Orthopaedic Surgery

Our hospital has advanced diagnostic imaging facilities such as CT and MRI scanners, digital X-rays, arthroscopy (placing a camera in the joint through keyhole incisions) and fluoroscopy (video X-rays) but often the most important factor in diagnosing conditions is the consultation and examination by our experienced surgeons. They will then be able to discuss which investigations are most appropriate and treatment options available for the conditions.

Orthopaedic surgery primarily involves treating lame and painful animals, animals with deformities of their limbs and trauma patients with fractures and other injuries.

Here is a selection of some of the common conditions which we treat:

Forelimbs

  • Elbow dysplasia
  • Coronoid disease (fragmented coronoid process)
  • OCD (Osteochondrosis dissecans)
  • Ununited anconeal process
  • Humeral intracondylar fissure (HIF)/ Incomplete Ossification of the Humeral Condyle (IOHC)
  • Shoulder instability
  • Shoulder OCD
  • Carpal hyperextension or instability
  • Limb deformities.

Hindlimbs

  • Cruciate ligament disease
  • Patellar luxation (dislocating kneecap)
  • Hip dysplasia
  • Hip dislocation.

General

  • Fractures
  • Dislocations
  • Arthritis
  • Bone tumours.

Why choose us

Our team is led by specialists who have many years of experience in referral practice, refining our diagnostic and surgical skills, this often means we will have seen the rare and unusual cases before, but also means we can provide unrivalled care of the more routine cases.

We have full time orthopaedic surgeons meaning there is continuity of care of your pet, including checking them the day after surgery, but also means we can discuss the more challenging cases amongst ourselves giving you a second, third and fourth opinion.

The care of your pet is our number one priority. Our nursing team are all fully qualified veterinary nurses with many having advanced veterinary nursing diplomas. Our hospital has 24 hour patient care with both nurses and an intern (qualified vet at the very start of their specialist training) present overnight to provide constant care.

If your pet needs to be anaesthetised, we have one of the largest and most experienced specialist anaesthesia teams in the country and they continue to take care of your pets pain relief in the immediate postoperative period but also in the longer term through our allied pain management clinics.

We are a multidisciplinary referral centre with specialists in many different fields, meaning if we find your pet has another problem as well as its orthopaedic disease, we can get immediate input and assistance from other specialists. It is not uncommon for us to request a neurology specialist to check our orthopaedic patients but we sometimes need help from our soft tissue surgeons to treat airway problems, or abdominal or thoracic injuries after car accidents; our medicine team if your pet has kidney problems as well and our cardiologist if we find an unexpected heart murmur.

Our hospital has state of the art facilities and industry leading equipment. Our theatres are designed to minimise the chances of acquiring surgical infections meaning animals don’t need to be discharged with unnecessary antibiotics which can increase resistance. We closely monitor our results to identify any increases in the rate or severity of infections.

Orthopaedic Service Facilities

Meet the Team

Our specialist team working in this department

Nick Macdonald

BVetMed, MVM, CertSAS, DipECVS, MRCVS

EBVS & RCVS Recognised Specialist in Small Animal Surgery

Matthew Smith

BVetMed, GPCert(SAS), CertAVP(GSAS), DipECVS MRCVS, EBVS European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery

EBVS & RCVS Recognised Specialist in Small Animal Surgery

Edward Crystal

BVSc CertAVP MRCVS

Surgery Clinician

Dylan Payne

BVMedSci (Hons) BVMBVS (Hons) PgCertVPS CertAVP (GSAS) MRCVS

ECVS Resident in Small Animal Surgery

Panagiotis Kokkinos

DVM MSc MRCVS

ECVS Resident in Small Animal Surgery

Samar Riziq

ECVS Resident in Small Animal Surgery