Pet Care Veterinary Hospital

There are many conditions affecting the skeletal system in our veterinary patients. We at Pet Care treat these problems in our canine, feline, small mammal, avian, and reptilian patients. Especially for dogs, these can be divided into juvenile and adult diseases and front leg or rear leg problems. Of course some problems may occur in any age animal including fractures (broken bones) and infections. Lymes disease, which is spread by an infected tick, is one notable infectious disease causing orthopedic illness.

Juvenile diseases seen most commonly include panosteitis, hip dysplasia, OCD, and elbow dysplasia.

Panosteitis is known as growing pains and is often a shifting leg lameness that goes away within a few months. X-rays may reveal characteristic changes in the bones. Treatment is rest and pain medication. The prognosis is excellent.

Hip dysplasia is when the hip joint (coxofemoral joint) separates and causes arthritis. X-rays are needed to diagnose hip dysplasia. There are both medical and surgical options for treating this too common disease. FHO, the femoral head ostectomy is a good procedure for the severely affected that won’t be receiving a total hip replacement. One service we strongly recommend is the PennHIP x-ray to evaluate breeding dogs so we can accurately identify good and bad hips as this is genetically passed on.

OCD stands for osteochondritis dissecans and is when joint cartilage becomes unattached from the bone beneath it. This is most common in the shoulder but can also occur in other joints. When treated with surgery OCD has a good prognosis.

Elbow dysplasia is the result of one or more individual conditions. Three bones (humerus, radius, ulna) come together to form the elbow. If these bones grow at different rates the joint may not glide smoothly and is called incongruent. This may also lead to improper stresses and cause a fragmented medial coronoid, also known as FMC. FMC is often difficult to accurately diagnose and difficult to treat, but benefits can sometimes be gained with surgery. An ununited anconeal process, UAP, is when part of the ulna bone doesn’t fuse properly. UAP can be diagnosed with an x-ray and is best treated at a referral center.

Fracture repair is another one of our services. A variety of techniques for various fracture types that involve plates, screws, pins, casts, splints, bone grafts, and other devices are employed. Being relatively common, we treat numerous radius and ulna fractures in small breed dogs. Fractures aren’t limited to dogs so we also treat rabbits, chinchillas, lizards, birds, and others with broken bones.

Anterior cruciate ligament tear (ACL), same as the cranial cruciate ligament,is the most common adult sudden onset rear limb lameness in dogs. This is a condition of middle age dogs of any breed. The anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments reside in the knee, or stifle, joint. For some unknown reason the anterior cranial cruciate becomes weak in some individuals and breaks. This causes instability and often meniscal cartilage tears. Torn ACL’s are diagnosed not with x-rays but during a physical exam. Sometimes sedation is required to examine properly. The ligament is permanently damaged and cannot be sewn back together. Treatment is a surgical method to stabilize the joint. We perform many ACL surgeries since they occur frequently. Our repair involves a suture that functions as the ACL and anchors two bones. Good results and return to normal/near normal activity are expected but there are patients who don’t respond as well and continue being lame. There is a referral technique known as a TPLO that is readily available and believed by some to be superior, where the tibia bone is cut and plated in a different rotational position. With all ACL patients, arthritis is an unfortunate outcome. Even the best surgeons still can’t prevent the knee joint from developing arthritis after the ACL has been torn.

Medial Patella luxation (MPL) is when the kneecap moves out of position. Most commonly seen in young animals but also occurs in mature ones as well. This is often an intermittent lameness diagnosed mostly with a physical exam. X-rays and history also aid in diagnosing a MPL. These are usually rewarding to treat surgically with an excellent prognosis.

Summary of services:

X-ray diagnostics including PennHIP and OFA submissions

Fracture repair

OCD surgery

FHO surgery

ACL surgery

MPL surgery