Orthopedic surgery is the area of veterinary surgery that involves the bones and joints. Some veterinarians can perform both orthopedic and soft tissue surgeries, but others focus on one or the other. At Liberty Animal Hospital, we can do both! All orthopedic surgeries are considered advanced surgeries because they are often complex and require a high level of knowledge and experience for a successful outcome. One of the challenges is that the typical veterinary patient may not always comply with the typical activity restrictions, which means that the skeletal stabilizations must be solid enough to sustain some of those challenges.

5 signs your pet might need an orthopedic surgery:

If your pet is showing one or many of the following symptoms, he/she might be suffering from an orthopedic condition that requires orthopedic surgery as the treatment of choice:

• Hit by a car
• Fell off an elevated surface
• Sudden onset of non-weight bearing lameness
• Abnormal gait, favoring 1 limb or the other
• Swollen joint

Some Orthopedic Surgeries

The following are some orthopedic surgeries that are performed at Liberty Animal Hospital:

• Luxating patella (Kneecap popping out of place)
• Extracapsular Repair (Surgery to repair a torn ACL in dogs that weigh less than 30 pounds)
• Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO, Surgery to repair a torn ACL in very active dogs and/or weight over 30 pounds). Please refer to the TPLO web page for more information.
• Fracture Repair (Broken Bone). Please refer to the Fracture Repair web page for more information.
  Femoral Head and Neck
• Osteotomy (FHO, Surgery to repair a hip joint that is out of place or with severe arthritis)
• Arthrodesis (Surgery to partially or completely fuse a joint that sustained an injury that is not repairable)

We are here for you!

If your pet needs orthopedic surgery or if you are unsure about what your pet might need, please give us a call. Usually, an office visit is the best setting to provide you with all the information you might need, present a more accurate cost estimate for the surgery but also
answer any questions that you might have about the procedure, its success rate, the potential complications, and how to care for your loved ones in the recovery period. We can be reached at the number listed below, or you can make an appointment online.