The Tibial Tuberosity Advancement (TTA) surgery is one of the most popular surgical procedures for the correction of a torn or partially torn Cranial Cruciate Ligament in dogs. It is the most common knee injury in the dog and it can occur at any age and in any breed, but most frequently occurs in middle aged, overweight, medium to large breed dogs.
What is the TTA Cruciate Ligament Surgery?Tibial Tuberosity Advancement is one of a group of surgical procedures designed to alter the shape of the knee such that all strain is removed from the damaged cruciate ligament, which is then no longer needed. The operation provides permanent stability of the knee improving both the short and long term outlooks for the dog.
They are widely considered the preferred way to repair cruciate ligament injuries in large dogs (over 20kg). Unfortunately, most regular Perth veterinary hospitals are only able to offer the traditional repair with a nylon ligament which is not an ideal solution for large dogs. Referral to a specialist for TPLO is often necessary.
Dr Adrian Fleay has been performing TTA's in Perth now since 2011 and has been performing cruciate surgeries on dog's since 2003. So if your dog requires a cruciate repair without the specialist price tag, congratulations you have found him!
The Tibial Plateau Levelling Osteotomy (TPLO) surgery was the first of the tibial plateau leveling surgeries. For many years, without a better option available most large dog's were implanted with an artificial ligament of some type. These artificial ligaments come with a variety of different problems and complications making them really only beneficial for smaller dogs. The TPLO a "patented" procedure, relied on highly specialised training and equipment which added considerably to the cost and reduced it’s availability to most vet's. As a result, the TPLO procedure was only available from specialist veterinary orthopedic surgeons located in specialist surgical referral centres and university veterinary teaching hospitals, making it very costly and inaccessible for many pet owners.
A number of veterinary orthopedic surgeons developed similar procedures which used some of the theory behind the TPLO to improve stifle joint stability without difficulty and proprietary limitations of the original TPLO.
Hence, the TTA was developed and has rapidly become one of the most popular of the new tibial plateau leveling procedures. It is attractive to vets because it is simpler, faster, easier and more reliable than more complex procedures such as the TPLO.
Dr Adrian Fleay performing a TTA cruciate repair- Graphic images (to nice music:)
Want to Know more about the tibial tuberosity advancement "click here" to visit U.S. cruciate specialist Jeff Mayo's webpage. Dr Adrian was trained at the University of Queensland by Dr Jeff.
