Feb 5th, 2009

Is My Dog a Candidate for Tightrope Surgery?

The newest surgical technique to repair torn cranial cruciate ligaments in dogs is the tightrope procedure.  Tightrope CCL is an extracapsular technique which uses lateral suture stabilization in conjunction with a virtually indestructible material called FiberTape for knee joint stabilization.  The Fiber Tape is placed in the dog’s knee through a few small incisions, mostly [...]

Feb 5th, 2009

Tightrope Surgery vs. Extracapsular or Traditional Repair

How is Tightrope CCL Different from Extracapsular Imbrication or Traditional Repair? The major difference between extracapsular imbrication/traditional repair methods and tightrope ccl is the way in which the knee joint is stabilized.  In a traditional CCL repair, a leader line (suture, or you can also think of this as a fishing line) is woven across [...]

Feb 4th, 2009

Tightrope CCL Surgery Recovery

Sep 9th, 2008

Tightrope CCL Procedure

The Tightrope CCL repair surgery is the newest surgical option available for dogs with cranial cruciate ligament injury.  Unlike in humans, canine CCL tears and damage generally takes place over a period of months or years, rather than being associated with a single traumatic event.  Because of the nature of these injuries, and their degenerative [...]

Jun 15th, 2008

CCL Injury in Both Back Legs

It is not unusual for dogs who have a cranial cruciate ligament rupture in one leg to develop one in the other leg. It is a little unusual to have two severe ruptures at the same time, but it does occur, especially in large breed dogs or overweight canines. Generally the signs of this type [...]

May 30th, 2008

Does My Dog Need a Meniscus?

When there is a joint injury like a cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture, it is important for the vet to try to preserve the menisci to the greatest extent possible. Loss of all or part of a stifle’s meniscus has the potential to accelerate the breakdown of articular cartilage with resultant DJD (Degenerative Joint Disease). [...]

May 8th, 2008

Questions to Ask Your Vet Prior to CCL Surgery

If you and your veterinarian have decided to take surgical approach (TTA, TPLO, traditional/extracapsular/lateral suture repair, Tightrope) to correcting your dog’s cranial cruciate ligament rupture, you will want to be prepared for what to do prior to your dog’s knee surgery. The following checklist will provide a general idea of talking points to discuss with [...]

May 1st, 2008

TPLO vs. TTA for Cranial Cruciate Ligament Repair

TPLO, or tibial plateau leveling osteotomy, and TTA, or tibial tuberosity advancement, are two very new and biomechanically similar surgical techniques. Both the TPLO and TTA create stability within the dog stifle by altering the angle of the knee and using implants to hold the knee in place while the joint heals in its new [...]

May 1st, 2008

TTA Surgical Procedure

TTA is the abbreviation for tibial tuberosity advancement.  The TTA is among the newer techniques for cranial cruciate ligament repair of the canine stifle, making its appearance roughly 10 years ago. The TTA technique was developed in 2002 at the University of Zurich, and, biomechanically speaking, the procedure is very similar to the TPLO, without [...]

Apr 30th, 2008

Extracapsular Imbrication Surgery, Traditional Repair Procedure

In the extracapsular imbrication, also known as the traditional method and lateral fabellar surgery, your dog will have a strong leader line placed within the knee to provide stabilization. Some veterinarians will only perform this procedure on small dogs and cats, while others will use the technique on dogs of all sizes. There is no [...]