Mischievous Puppy’s Double Leg Surgery Journey

A Staffy pup is back to his boisterous self after our expert team carried out operations on both legs for the same injury within a matter of weeks.

Puppy Steve, from Leyland, was playing on the sofa when he fell, and his tibia went through his left growth plate, resulting in a fracture. Incredibly, he then suffered the same injury to his right leg just a fortnight later.

Following the first fracture, the five-month-old pup was referred to us here at Kentdale, where our European Diplomate in Small Animal Surgery Jan Beranek carried out the surgery.

However, only two weeks later the Staffordshire Bull Terrier was back once again after injuring his other leg in the same way and needing to undergo the same procedure.

Owner Chris Austin said: “Steve was playing on the sofa and then jumped off after his ball. He started yelping and limping and we noticed swelling on his knee.

“Our local vets told us he had fractured his growth plate and needed an operation to fix it, which is when he was referred to Kentdale. They couldn’t have been any better, he was literally in for surgery the next morning.

“But then we couldn’t believe it when, just two weeks later, he did exactly the same to his other leg, so we went back for the same procedure.”

Steve needed both of his legs pinning to put the plates back in place, before being put on strict crate rest.

Chris added: “Keeping Steve on crate rest for eight weeks wasn’t as bad as we first thought it would be. He has calming medication to keep him relaxed which really helped, and we brought toys to keep him occupied.

“He is doing fantastically now. He is fully healed and back to his mischievous self.

“The treatment from Kentdale was great. They explained everything to us, gave regular updates and we could ring whenever we wanted to check up on Steve. The staff there are lovely and we would recommend them to anyone in future.”

Jan said: “Steve is a really boisterous puppy and it was just unlucky he had these injuries so close together. He’s bounced back remarkably well and we’re delighted he’s back to enjoying his puppyhood.”