Rob Clark

😊😊

This little 2 kg patient came in with a cranial cruciate ligament tear - the most common cause of hind limb lameness in dogs.

It looks like he was a bit suspicious about the whole process, but he was such a good little patient!

In toy breeds, these cases can be more complex than they first appear. Small dogs frequently have concurrent patellar (kneecap) instability, and their tiny bone size leaves very little margin for error. Plate selection, screw placement, and osteotomy accuracy become especially critical when working with such delicate anatomy.

For this TPLO, we performed a precise cut and corrected his tibial plateau angle to 3°. The goal of TPLO is not to "replace" the ligament, but to neutralize the shear forces within the knee by altering biomechanics - allowing the joint to function stably without relying on the torn ligament.

In small patients, appropriate implant sizing and careful preoperative planning are essential to:

Maintain bone integrity

Avoid implant prominence

Optimize patellar tracking

Encourage predictable bone healing.
The exciting part? When biomechanics are restored properly, these little dogs often regain excellent comfort and long-term function super quick!

He's already beginning his recovery phase, and with controlled rehabilitation and monitoring, we expect a strong return to activity.❤️🩺🐾

Not even snow can slow Bo's zoomies..

hello everyone, it's a beautiful day let's go make it count ❤️🩺

Look at the ears!!!! This little lady had two really interesting fractures at the same time! Both sides of the patellar tendon fractured off, leaving the patellar tendon in some serious trouble! The patellar tendon helps connect the kneecap to the shin bone, and allows your quads to pull as strongly as they do!

Both the kneecap and the point on the shin were both fractured, thankfully, small knee cap fractures can be managed conservatively! The point on the shin was reattached with cross pins and a tension band, and will be removed once the tibial fracture site is healed!

She was immediately more comfortable once things were reattached, and she's well on her way to recovery! Wishing the little lady a quick recovery!

This tiny lady presented with one of the most technically difficult fractures I've ever done. T/Y fractures where both of the humeral condyles are separated from the diaphysis are considered one of the most technically demanding surgeries- and this one was way-WAY worse than the normal T/Y. The white circle in the third picture is only 1 cm large, meaning the vast majority of these fragments are less than 0.5 cm. In total there were 9 fragments, and I was pleased with the reduction and range of motion seen at the 8 week post op.

All in all, happy to see the little one with an elbow again! Wishing her smooth continuation of her healing process!

This tiny pom pom had a luxating patella that progressed into a torn cranial cruciate ligament and a high grade patellar luxation. Look at how teeny the plate is!!!!

Kneecaps that pop out of place put a ton of inappropriate force on the rest of the knee, and dogs with patellar luxation are massively at increased risk of developing cruciate disease. It's a huge reason to get it fixed asap. Once they do develop cruciate disease, the knee is under a ton of abnormal force because BOTH the kneecap luxating, and the instability generated from the deficient cranial cruciate cause discomfort.

Thankfully a TPLO, with a stepped plate to allow translation of the proximal fragment, a trochleoplasty, and lateral retinacular imbrication are enough to restore normal stifle kinematics! This little one healed up great and is back to using the knee! On a side note, loving the new stepped plates from

Katrina yearning for scritches. Katrina becoming one with the scritches