Cruciate Surgery

With the exception of arthritis, cranial cruciate ligament disease is the most common orthopaedic condition we see in the surgery. It is a condition of the ligaments in the stifle (knee) joint and can affect both young and old animals and can present both acutely after a trauma or more chronically.

Unlike arthritis, cruciate damage usually requires a surgical intervention in order to get animals back on their feet.

There are various different types of surgery available to treat cruciate disease.

At Swanzdale we currently offer:

• Lateral suture technique. This technique involves a prosthetic ligament applied to the stifle to take over the role of the damaged ligament.

• TTA (Tibial Tuberosity Advancement). This technique is currently the preferred technique among specialist orthopaedic surgeons and a much better option, especially for larger dogs. Having a TTA used to require travelling to a specialist orthopaedic centre but now is available at the practice with great results. Rather than replacing the ligament with a prosthesis the TTA involves moving the front of the tibia (shin bone) forward relative to the rest of the bone and fixing it there with special cages and bone plates. What this does is change the forces applied to the stifle, when the animal is walking or standing, in such a way that an intact cruciate ligament is no longer necessary for the animal.