Hi! This is Dr. Klingborg.
I’ve been performing orthopedic and soft tissue surgery for my entire veterinary 31+ years as a veterinarian!
The TPLO involves rotating the top of the tibia to create a flat surface— this provides stability to the knee!
Over a year ago, we began to offer the TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy) surgery for dogs who have ruptured their Anterior (or Cranial) Cruciate Ligament in a back leg. I LOVE this surgery.
There are two ‘most common’ techniques for repairing a ruptured ACL— the Extracapsular Technique and the TPLO.
The ‘Extracapsular Technique’ is better for small dogs and cats of all sizes
We have found dogs that weigh below 50 pounds do well with the Extracapsular technique (~$2500 at my clinic) and over 50 pounds are better suited to the TPLO (~$4200 + medication.)
Cats also can rupture their ACL and the Extracapsular technique works well for them, too!
What I love about the TPLO is that dogs return very quickly to function and many are weight bearing on the surgery leg one week after the procedure. It is important to keep them from running, jumping or stair climbing for 1 - 2 months post surgery. If owners (and their dogs ) follow the rules, the healing and comfort level of these surgical patients is great!
Maggie— one month post TPLO. 11/15/2023
Lateral of Maggie at 1 month post TPLO. Fully weight bearing and happy!
ACL disease most commonly affects middle-aged, large- and giant-breed dogs, but it occurs somewhat frequently in smaller dogs and occasionally in cats. The disease usually occurs in one leg, but rupture of the ACL in the other leg is common within 6-12 months following the first ligament tear.
Elongated Soft Palate and Stenotic Nares Surgeries:
We’ve recently added another fun surgery to our skill set, and that’s the Elongated Soft Palate surgery. As dogs with short snouts become more and more popular (such as the French Bulldog and the English Bulldog), we are seeing more respiratory issues and heat intolerance.
Removing some of the extra tissue from the back of the throat helps give dogs a nice respiratory passage and they seem to have far fewer Respiratory and Digestive problems later in life. We also recommend opening up the nostrils (called ‘stenotic nares’) surgically. This helps to improve the ease of breathing by up to 30%!!!
I can’t do these surgeries by myself— I have a great team of Receptionists, Patient Care Nurses and Surgical Nurses to assist me. Yes, I am the one doing these surgeries, but it takes a Team to have a great outcome and I have an excellent Team at Valley Animal Hospital of Merced.
VAH of Merced takes great pride in our work and service to pets and their owners! We have been able to help pet owners from all over Northern California. You’ll find us at 209.384.7387. You are welcome to email me at vahmerced58@gmail.com and I’ll respond as soon as I can!