Rosie - Border Terrier

Meet Rosie, the 18month old Border Terrier, owned by Ellie one of our student vet nurses 

After beginning to skip on walks and having difficulty jumping onto furniture, Ellie brought her into practice for a check over. On examination, the patella (knee cap) could be manually dislocated and muscle wastage was felt on the most affected side which was the right. Most commonly, affected dogs show an intermittent skipping lameness when the patella becomes dislocated. X-rays were taken of Rosie’s hind limbs, which showed the patella outside of the trochlear groove of the femur, which it should sit. It was recommended that surgery was undertaken to correct this problem.

Over the last couple of months Rosie has been recovering well from the surgeries. Her first surgery took place in October on the right hind and the second in December on the left hind. The surgeries were carried out by Tom Guilding a specialist orthopaedic surgeon who visits the practice monthly

The surgery normally involves a combination of 3 procedures.

Wedge Recession Trochleoplasty - The groove is deepened by removing a wedge of the cartilage and recessing it deeper into the femur. A deeper groove enables the knee cap to fit in a more stable position and have support from surrounding tissues.

Tibial Tuberosity Transposition (TTT)- Re-alignment of the patella ligament which joins the patella to the shin bone. The shin bone is cut and repositioned, the bone is the held into position by 1-2 metal pins.

Soft Tissue Reconstruction - Tissues either side of the patella are often to loose or tight, these are corrected allowing the patella to track smoothly.

Following the exercise program set in place, Rosie has been making a fantastic recovery and is soon to start Hydrotherapy to help build her muscle back up. Everyone at Northwich Vets wishes her all the best and we look forward to seeing her when she visits.