TPLO/ TTA Knee Surgery for Your Dog

TTA and TPLO are revolutionary new surgeries to repair a torn ACL in dogs.  The surgery is done just below the knee on the middle side where there are fewer msucles and nerve endings resulting in a faster return to use of leg. 

Due to the bent-leg stature of most dogs the ACL is under nearly constant strain.  When it tears, the physical force of stepping on the leg causes a grinding motion as the femur slips down the tibial slope.  Innovative veteriarians came up with the idea to flatten the slope to a near perpendicular angle and eliminate the slipping with great success.  Although the surgery does involve cutting and moving a piece of bone, return to function is more rapid and fewer long-term complications are seen than any of the extra-capsular techniques in dogs over 60 pounds including the "Tightrope" repair.

TTA and TPLO are revolutionary new surgeries to repair a torn ACL in dogs.  The surgery is done just below the knee on the middle side where there are fewer msucles and nerve endings resulting in a faster return to use of leg. 

Due to the bent-leg stature of most dogs the ACL is under nearly constant strain.  When it tears, the physical force of stepping on the leg causes a grinding motion as the femur slips down the tibial slope.  Innovative veterinarians came up with the idea to flatten the slope to a near perpendicular angle and eliminate the slipping with great success.  Although the surgery does involve cutting and moving a piece of bone, return to function is more rapid and fewer long-term complications are seen than any of the extra-capsular techniques in dogs over 60 pounds including the "Tightrope" repair.

TTA stands for Tibial Tuberosity Advancement.  TTA was developed in Switzerland by Dr. Slobodan Tepic in the late 1990's and has only been introduced here in the US for the last 4-5 years.  TTA uses the same concept of leveling the tibial plateau in relation to the dynamic transfer of force through the patellar tendon.

Instead of rotating the bone to flatten the plateau like TPLO, a cut is made on the non-weight bearing front part of the tibia and the patellar tendon is advanced and plated as a wedge at a new perpendicular angle.  Because the cut is made on the non-weight bearing surface of the bone, recovery to walking and full use is 2-3 weeks faster than TPLO. Not every dog is a candidate for TTA, but it is the most common surgery we do for ACL repair in dogs over 60 pounds.

TPLO stands for Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy.  It was developed by Dr. Barclay Slocum in the early 1990's in Oregon.  TPLO works by making a semi-circular cut in the tiba and rotating the piece backwards by a  pre-determined amount so the tibial slope is perpendicular to the patellar tendon.  The majority of dogs have a slope of 19- 23?. Goal of TPLO surgery is to reduce the slope to 5-15? degrees. Most dogs are weight bearing within a few days of discharge and are using the leg nearly normally within 8-10 weeks. See more information at: slocumenterprises.com