At Clarion Animal Hospital, we offer a state-of-the-art surgical suite where our veterinarians can perform a wide range of procedures, including some orthopedics. Our staff are highly trained and informed on anesthetic solutions to ensure the safety of our patients. Anesthesia is administered with age and risk factors taken into consideration. We also use the best anesthetic solutions available to maintain the highest level of safety for our patients, especially those that may be older and at a higher risk for complications. Every precaution is taken to protect your pet and ensure a smooth, swift recovery. Before scheduling your pet’s surgery, we require a consultation first to discuss their needs and answer any questions you have.
We also require a pre-anesthetic examination and blood work to assess the condition of your pet’s blood cells and organs. While your pet is in surgery, they will be monitored diligently by our veterinary team and kept comfortable with the appropriate pain management.
Types of Soft-Tissue Surgeries We Offer
Clarion Animal Hospital is able to provide various soft-tissue surgeries, from the routine to the more intensive. These include:
Spay & Neuter
Mass / Tumor Removal
Foreign body removal
Eye surgeries (enucleation, entropion, cherry eye)
Repair of laceration injuries
Bladder surgery
Orthopedic Pet Surgery
We are equipped to perform several types of orthopedic (bone and joint) surgeries in our hospital. Services include lameness evaluation, cruciate ligament repair, fracture repair, and joint surgery.
Cruciate ligament injuries are the most common cause of serious lameness in dogs. The cranial cruciate ligament is a small but essential ligament located inside the stifle (knee) joint. Dogs that tear their cruciate ligament show signs of non-weight bearing lameness, either due to extreme physical activity or gradually over time. Once the cruciate ligament has ruptured it cannot heal, leading to an unstable joint, pain when standing or walking, and progressive development of arthritis. Veterinarians can perform cruciate repair surgery to stabilize the joint and help the dog return to full mobility.
Clarion Animal Hospital offers several different surgical techniques for this type of injury. Techniques are as follows:
Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) is an effective, long-term solution for addressing cruciate ligament injury in dogs. The process involves changing the dynamics of the dog’s knee by reconfiguring the top of the tibia with plates and screws to stabilize the knee and return the dog to normal function.
Tightrope technique is an effective approach to correcting cranial cruciate ligament injuries in dogs. The procedure replaces the function of the damaged cranial cruciate ligament with a polyester braided suture that is directly anchored to the bones on either side of the joint.
Lateral suture technique is another effective method for treating cranial cruciate ligament injuries. It involves replacing the function of the damaged cranial cruciate ligament with a monofilament suture that mimics the cruciate ligament but placed outside the joint. The technique provides strong repair and is reserved for smaller pets often less than 15 lbs. It is less invasive than other techniques.
- Pinning/Wire Fixation stabilizes the fracture by inserting a long stainless-steel rod into the middle of the bone across the fractured area. This rod is often temporary and removed postoperatively after a definitive time of healing.
- External Skeletal Fixation consists of inserting two or more pins in the proximal and distal bone fracture fragments, respectively. The pins are connected by clamps to an external connecting bar. They are useful in treating a wide variety of fractures.
