Our hospital offers Orthopedic Surgery services to cope with a wide range of injuries and conditions. If your pet experiences a knee ligament injury, procedures such as a TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy) or extracapsular repair may be recommended. Please call us for more information about our hospital's comprehensive orthopedic services.
Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO)
TPLO surgery prevents the cruciate ligament from forward and backward sliding of the femur on the tibia bone, also known as drawer motion. Rupture of this ligament leads to debilitating lameness.
The TPLO surgery also provides:
How the Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) Works
The bone just below the knee or stifle joint is the tibia and the bone above is the femur. The top of the tibia is the tibial plateau. All dogs have a sloping tibial plateau.
During weight bearing, the femur slides down the tibial plateau. The (ACL) stops this downward slope, therefore, is under constant tension during weight bearing. It is this biomechanical problem that leads to most ACL ruptures and may cause older repair techniques to fail.
The TPLO involves an osteotomy to reorient the tibial plateau to a near level platform. This provides a biomechanically stable joint. The new tibial plateau angle also reorients the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), enabling it to function as both the ACL and PCL.
The osteotomy is held in place with a bone plate and screws during healing (approximately three months). The bone plate does not usually require removal.
