Orthopaedic & Soft Tissue Service

Orthopaedic Service

Orthopaedic & Soft Tissue Service

We have recently added Orthopaedic & Soft Tissue to the services we are able to offer our clients and patients.

If you would like to enquire further or book please contact us via the Petsapp “chat with us” link in the corner of this page or call our reception team.

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For some conditions – particularly those requiring more complex surgery it is helpful to have the input of a specialist surgeon. In the past this has meant referral and its associated travel to an outside centre, for example the Vet School in Glasgow, or Broadleys vet hospital in Stirling.

We are therefore delighted to announce that we are now able to call on Nick Goldfinch of Surgeon on Site, and his team of nurses, who will visit our premises on Dalblair Road to undertake some of the more complex surgical procedures. Nick holds the certificate in MRCVS Advanced Practitioner in small animal surgery.

This means that patients (and clients) are spared the journey to an external centre and can often be sent home the same night (or early the next day).

At what may otherwise be a stressful time for both patients and owners this can be a great advantage – the operations can be carried out and aftercare given in familiar surroundings with familiar faces looking after your pet, and without having to travel any further than Ayr.

One common condition that Nick has successfully treated for us is Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) rupture, this is a ligament in the knee joint. The gold standard treatment for this condition in most cases is a TPLO (Tibial Plateau Levelling Osteotomy). This involves remodelling the shape of the tibia (shin bone) using an air driven saw and an orthopaedic plate.

Shrek's Story!

Shrek is a bouncy 8 year old Labrador retriever, he presented to the surgery with a history of being lame on his left hind leg. After examination he was given pain relief and x-rays were scheduled to help with the definitive diagnosis of the problem. The x-rays confirmed that, as suspected, Shrek had torn a ligament in his knee.

Shrek had torn his cranial cruciate ligament. There are various ways of dealing with this injury depending on different factors such as the age, weight, breed and lifestyle of the dog. The best course of action for Shrek was to surgically repair this injury by performing a specialised procedure called a TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy) We arranged for Shrek to have his TPLO surgery performed by the team at Surgeon on Site.

It is very important after the operation for patients and owners to follow the post operation care instructions. These include special care to rest in the initial post op period and then specific rehabilitation exercises which aim to gradually increase strength in the affected leg. Return to normal function is expected after 3-4 months. Shrek did very well during his surgery and rehabilitation and is now back to his usual animated bouncy self.

Although we still need to refer some complex cases externally, the addition of the surgeon on site team to our visiting specialists is a welcome one, and helps us to offer the most complete service to our patients and clients.

The addition of Nick to our team of visiting specialists is a welcome one and helps us to offer the most complete service to our patients and clients.

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