1. Home
2. Life-saving surgery

Life-saving surgery

In some cases of trauma or disease, the joint is so badly damaged that functional recovery is no longer possible. In such cases, your animal's life can still be saved by performing arthrodesis or amputation.

Arthrodesis (fusion of a joint)

Arthrodesis eliminates the function of the normal joint. Very often, the bones, cartilage surfaces or adjacent tendons and ligaments of the affected joint are already so damaged that they cannot be saved.

In these cases, the cartilage is removed from the joint as completely as possible and we use a sturdy plate to reattach the bones. Over time, these structures fuse together and the limb can be used again.

Please note that this operation will completely eliminate the function of the joint. The animal will therefore walk differently than before, but this will normally cause little discomfort.

Arthrodesis is most successful in joints that absorb shocks (wrist and ankle). Joints that are closer to the body (and therefore more responsible for forward movement, such as the elbow or knee) have a less favourable prognosis.

Amputation

Sometimes a limb simply cannot be saved. Think of a very complex fracture or an invasive tumour. In these cases, we may recommend amputating the leg. The idea of a leg amputation often hits the owner harder than the animal itself. Leg amputation is, of course, a major operation that has a significant impact on your animal's mobility, but on the other hand, animals usually adapt very well. As a general rule, the amputation of a hind leg has fewer consequences than the amputation of a front leg.

Larger breeds and heavy animals can also do well after leg amputation. Being overweight is obviously not recommended. If your animal is eligible for leg amputation, we will carefully go through all scenarios with you before proceeding with surgery, as the procedure is, of course, irreversible...

If your animal was already accustomed to not using the leg to be amputated, it will function well immediately after the operation. If it was still using this leg, it will need to regain its balance after the procedure. This takes 1 to 2 weeks (longer for large animals).

Physiotherapy can certainly help your animal regain its core stability and get back on its feet more quickly.