Don’t let the phrase or term tibial plateau leveling osteotomy surgery, also commonly referred to as TPLO surgery or dog knee surgery, scare you, cause your eyes to roll into the back of your head or even cause heart palpitations.
With the first surgery performed by Dr. Barclay Slocum decades ago, TPLO surgery is one of the most common and expensive orthopedic surgeries a dog and dog owners are likely to encounter, yet the most effective remedy to provide a dog with a sustained optimal quality of life and activity.
After all, a dog has four legs and breakage of the cranial cruciate ligament — connective tissue that connects bone to bone, also referred to as the CCL and identical to the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) of a human, is highly likely and increases the likelihood once one CCL occurs.
In short, through the use of surgical grade bone locking plates and screws, TPLO surgery aims to provide a dog with a newly slight bent leg orientation when standing or active to comfortably bear the weight without pain of bone-to-bone contact or chronic arthritis.