A beloved border collie who was left lame after chasing a ball is now back to his bouncing best after surgery here at Kentdale.
Nine-year-old Kit had torn a ligament and was successfully operated on by Graham Hayes, Specialist in Small Animal Surgery.
Toby Gemmill, Managing Director at Kentdale and an RCVS and European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery (Orthopaedics), explained: “Kit was hurt while chasing a ball and ended up with acute lameness affecting his left hind leg. We examined him carefully and took X-rays which indicated tearing of the plantar ligament on the back of his hock joint.
“It required a partial tarsal arthrodesis, which involves the insertion of a lateral plate and bone screws to fuse the calcaneoquartal joint, one of the small joints in the hock. The operation lasted for around 90 minutes and was successful with Kit recovering well post-surgery.
“Kit was soon discharged home but with his owners under strict instructions to keep his movements severely restricted to allow healing of the joint. This included no free exercise and Kit being strictly confined during his four months of recovery to avoid any premature over-use and damage to the limb, which could result in complications needing revision surgery.
“His owners managed Kit very well during this time and at his post-operative check we were delighted with his textbook recovery.”
Kit’s delighted owner was full of praise for our team, saying: “It was a long haul for Kit, and for us, and we were very careful. We gradually started building up his exercise after his post-op X-rays confirmed the operation had been a complete success. We're now back out on our adventures, still somewhat cautiously, but Kit is doing fantastic. His endurance is shooting up and he is back to his happy collie self.
“We owe a huge thank you to Graham and the Kentdale team for all their help and care. Kit's my best friend and I couldn't be more grateful.”
We are one of the UK’s leading Specialist Orthopaedic, Spinal and Soft Tissue small animal referral centres.