In August of this year, Jetty the Labrador ruptured the cranial cruciate ligament of his left knee, leaving him extremely debilitated. Shortly after this, Jetty became the first dog to undergo a cutting-edge surgery in Oamaru known as the tibial tuberosity advancement procedure (TTA) to treat this injury.

The cranial cruciate ligament (known as the anterior cruciate ligament or ACL in humans) is an important ligament of the knee joint. In many dogs, this ligament degenerates and weakens with age. Consequently, tearing or complete rupture of this ligament is the most common orthopaedic problem that we as veterinarians see.

The TTA procedure involves making a cut in the front of the shin bone to move it further forward and then putting in a titanium wedge implant made by a 3D printer that fits each dog.

Jetty's surgery went extremely well and since then Jetty hasn't looked back and is enjoying the freedom of being active and having fun with his owners again. Our Veterinary Centre professional team are very excited in knowing what this operation will mean for our clients.