Knee surgery - torn ligament

Sep 22

2 min read

The state-of-the-art technique for repairing a ruptured cranial cruciate ligament. Rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament (Ligamentum Cruciatum Craniale - CCL) is the most common orthopedic diagnosis. It is a very serious condition that, without surgical therapy, leads to the rapid development of degenerative changes—osteoarthritis or arthrosis—resulting in significant impairment of the knee joint function and, consequently, the entire limb.

A large number of methods aimed at replacing the ligament's function have been described. However, these methods do not eliminate the root cause of the CCL rupture and therefore fail very frequently. Veterinarians from around the world sought a way to address this shortcoming.

In 1984, a technique known as CWO—Cranial Wedge Osteotomy—was described for the first time. It does not replace the ligament, but rather eliminates the cause of ligament failure. This method was later further refined in 1993 with the description of the TPLO—Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy technique.

In 2000, TTA was described for the first time. It is undoubtedly the most modern way to address a ruptured cruciate ligament. The result of this surgical procedure is a functional realignment of the knee joint's biomechanical elements, eliminating the need for the cranial cruciate ligament function.

At our clinic, we began using TTA in August 2006, and as of September 1, 2016, we have performed over 500 of these procedures. TTA is precisely the type of surgery where procedure success increases directly with the surgeon's experience. A high number of performed procedures therefore allows us to achieve very high success rates. At the same time, experience enables the best resolution of potential complications, which are, however, minimal.

You can watch the entire surgical procedure here >>>