Advanced Surgery

Cranial cruciate ligament failure is a common orthopaedic problem in dogs. The ligament helps to stabilise the knee joint whilst allowing it to flex & extend. Most commonly, the ligament fails due to a degenerative process, in which case the other ligament may also be affected at some point. Less commonly, the cause is purely an athletic injury in an active dog that jumps.

MMP (Modified Maquet Procedure)

One of the operations we perform is called an MMP (Modified Maquet Procedure), which is a technique which advances the position of part of the tibia. This gives the effect of modifying the forces on the knee joint to neutralise the instability caused by the ligament rupture.

TTA (Tibial Tuberosity Advancement)

TTA is the abbreviation for Tibial Tuberosity Advancement. This is a surgical procedure used to treat cranial (or anterior) cruciate ligament rupture in the knee joints (stifle) of dogs. It involves cutting the top of the shin bone (the tibia), moving it forward and stabilising it in its new position. Tibial Tuberosity Advancement surgery is a major procedure with possible complications. As a result, it is only performed in dogs where the benefits of surgery outweigh the possible risks, and where alternative methods of treatment are less successful.

We also perform a technique using a lateral stabilising suture to ensure that the joint is held in place as tightly as possible to stabilise it. This is the most common surgery performed for dog anterior cruciate ligament rupture.

We check your dog 5 days after surgery and again at 10-14 days. We also routinely perform a follow up xray to ensure everything has stayed in position for the first month. If all is well at this stage, we can start to increase exercise levels whilst remaining on a lead. Most dogs will be fine to run around after 2-3 months. We highly recommend our physiotherapist, Chloe, to speed the recovery of your pet after stifle surgery.