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TPLO Surgery

Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy

ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) tear.

Many people are familiar with an anterior cruciate ligament injury from what happened to various football players(Adrian Ross, Mike Seidman, Kevin Curtis , Damian LaVergne, etc). Similar injury happens in dogs and cats, typically from the same cause of over stressing the knee during playful exercise, such as sudden jumps from high places, or landing on the leg wrong. Except in few dogs where it may show as a slow, ongoing lameness of a rear leg, in most dogs it is characterized by sudden onset of lameness. The lameness happens from rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament causing instability, inflammation, arthritis and pain of the knee joint. This instability will sometimes cause a tearing of the meniscus causing additional pain and lameness.

Treatments

Several methods including self grafted ligament placement or installing sutures to act as a replacement ligament are used. TPLO surgery is a technique that is being used to stabilize the joint and get the maximum stability with least joint intervention. TPLO appears to have several benefits over other treatments that are being performed.

TPLO

Dr. Slocum, the developer of the TPLO technique, used an approach different than repairing the injury. After analyzing the forces of the knee, he realized that restructuring of the joint could prove more beneficial. The natural shape of the knee is such that when weight is placed on it, shear forces and the slope of the angle causes the joint bones to slip. Normally, the ACL ligament counters these forces. The TPLO surgery is an operation in which the tibia is cut and the knee joint rotated so that the slope is leveled, thus negating the need for the ACL.

Normal slope of knee
Post-op slope of knee negated the need for the ligament

Benefits

On short term basis, results of repairing or replacing the ligament are comparable to the results of the TPLO surgery. However, those methods still permit future joint instability from additional injuries. The main goal of the TPLO is to re-align the knee joint so that the torn ligament is no longer needed - thus the possibility of future injury is greatly lessened.

After care

Depending on your dog's sensitivity to pain, we may send home pain analgesics , for after the surgery. Most important to your dog's recovery is limiting the amount of exercise. If your pet is wandering around the house all day, that constitutes exercise! Also, avoid running and jumping as these can tear out the sutures, damage the healing bone, etc. Following surgery, only short leash walks should be permitted.

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