Rocky is a one-year old Chihuahua weighing only 2.5kg. He presented at an a local emergency referral hospital late one evening after hurting his left back leg. Xrays taken confirmed a fracture. A small fragment of bone had broken away from the top of his shin bone: this fracture is called a tibial tuberosity avulsion. Despite the fracture only being small, the broken bone is attached via a tendon to the knee cap making it very important for limb function.

The referral hospital recommended surgery and quoted $7000 for them to do the procedure. Being one of our clients they instead decided to come back to us for the procedure. We are very capable with many orthopaedic procedures including this fracture type.

Despite his tiny stature and the challenge this posed for our surgeon Michael, with the help of in-surgery xrays a tiny pin and wire were placed into and around this fragment, fixing it back in place. The surgery went very well and you can see from the video taken two days post procedure how well he is recovering.

We were able to correct the fracture for significantly less than the referral hospital. Rocky will need to rest for 6-8 weeks but we expect him to make a full recovery.