Orthopaedic Surgery

Jurassic Vets can offer a wide range of advanced orthopaedic procedures, all performed at our fully-equipped veterinary practice in Sidmouth.

Surgery is carried out by our own vets, or by visiting specialist surgeons working at Jurassic Vets for advanced procedures. We can offer cruciate procedures such as TTA and TPLO, hip replacements, external and internal fracture fixation and more.

By conducting these procedures in our dedicated operating theatre with the support of our superb qualified veterinary nursing team, we can usually avoid the need to send your pet to a distant referral practice when such operations are required, aiming for a quick and successful return to pain-free mobility with as little travel and stress as possible.

To discuss your pet's potential need for orthopaedic surgery, or to seek a second opinion if your pet is not currently registered with us, contact us on 01395 208620 or email contact@jurassicvets.com

When would orthopaedic be required?

Orthopaedic surgery is required when there is a problem with your pets skeletal system or bones. With the help of visiting specialist surgeons, we can perform a variety of orthopaedic surgeries, including but not limited to:

Cruciate repairs
Elbow Surgery such as  Total Elbow Replacement (TER)
Surgery to repair Patella luxation 
Hip surgery (Femoral Head and Neck Osteotomy, hip replacement)
Fracture repairs

How does an in house referral get organised?

Once your pet has had a consultation identifying an orthopaedic problem and X-rays to confirm what is going on, we will discuss the case with a specialist orthopaedic surgeon who will review your pet's X-rays and records, and make a recommendation for medical or surgical treatment.

If surgery is recommended, and you wish to proceed, Jurassic vets will organise the referral for you, and will contact you to agree a time and date for the operation.

Pets having orthopaedic surgery will almost always be able to go home that same day.

What costs are involved?

In order for our Vets to establish if orthopaedic surgery is necessary, we will need to perform X-rays to diagnose the cause of lameness or discomfort. 

The surgery itself incurs separate costs. 

Repeat X-rays are required at an interval after the surgery, charged separately from previous procedures. 

Physiotherapy and hydrotherapy may also be necessary to ensure patients recover well from surgery. 

As a practice we recommend taking out insurance for pets  to help pay for potentially unexpected procedures like these.

Visit our INSURANCE page in the PET ADVICE SECTION for more information

What should be done prior to surgery?

Once the surgery has been booked there are several steps that need to be followed.

1. Your pet will be booked in for a pre-op check around 2 days before the surgery. This means we can run Pre-operative blood tests and check your pet is well prior to surgery. 

2. As with all procedures, patients need to be starved from 8pm the night before . 

3. If we are claiming the costs of the surgery back from an insurance company we need all the details. Including, the name of the insurance company, policy number and date the policy was taken out

What care is required after the surgery?

Orthopaedic surgery requires a lot of after care and there are strict instructions to follow post operation. This is to ensure a smooth recovery back to normal fitness. Including: 

Cage rest

Lead walks

Buster collar fitted at all times

Monitoring of the surgical site

Giving medications as instructed 

After the surgery has been performed our Registered Veterinary Nurses will explain all the post-operative care requirements. 

We will provide you with a detailed handout explaining everything discussed at discharge. 

Details can be found on the following orthopaedic veterinary website:

                      https://pet.ratavetsurgery.co.uk/home 

Are there any follow up appointments?

We will need to see your pet for frequent check post-op checks.

2 days after surgery

10 days after surgery

6 weeks after surgery if repeat X-rays are required (these are not included in the cost of the surgery).