Surgery is a very popular area of veterinary work, in-fact most vets like to have a scalpel in their hand and show what they can do with it!
Surgery can be divided into orthopaedic work (bones and joints) and soft tissue work (that includes surgery such as neutering, intestinal, chest and ear,nose and throat surgery).
We have a wide selection of instruments and implants that allow us to operate on most of the orthopaedic surgery cases we see without the need to refer cases to specialist centres. Most of the orthopaedic surgery performed at Walnut Tree is to repair broken legs and treat cranial cruciate ligament problems in the knee joint.
We repair fractured legs with pins, plates, screws, external fixators, wires and occasionally fibreglass casts.
We offer two main treatment options for cruciate injuries. These are a lateral suture placement to stabilise the joint or the Slocum Tibial Plateau Levelling Osteotomy (TPLO) procedure to change the stifle dynamics.
We perform many soft tissue procedures ranging from neuterings and removal of skin tumours through to occasional lung, rib and splenic cancer removals. Other common procedures include thyroidectomies in geriatric hyperthyroid cats and intestinal surgery to remove foreign bodies (e.g. socks and corn on the cob) that have become stuck once eaten.
The picture to the right shows a free skin graft placed on the leg of a dog who had lost a large area of skin over the carpus (wrist joint) following a road traffic accident. The graft was taken from the skin over the abdomen where it is easy to suture a deficit.
Rory Burke holds the RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Surgeryand is always keen to discuss surgical cases with clients. Graham Richmond has many years of surgical experience. Rory and Graham often operate together on complex surgical cases.
We have a wide selection of instruments and implants that allow us to operate on most of the orthopaedic surgery cases we see without the need to refer cases to specialist centres. Most of the orthopaedic surgery performed at Walnut Tree is to repair broken legs and treat cranial cruciate ligament problems in the knee joint.
The picture to the right shows a free skin graft placed on the leg of a dog who had lost a large area of skin over the carpus (wrist joint) following a road traffic accident. The graft was taken from the skin over the abdomen where it is easy to suture a deficit.