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Cruciate Surgery
A torn cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) is one of the most common causes of hindlimb lameness in dogs. At Ashwood Vets, we understand how painful and limiting this can be — and we’re here to help your pet return to comfortable, confident movement.
Our orthopaedic surgeons, Dr Niall Thompson MVB CertAVP(GSAS) PGCertVPS MRCVS, and Dr Patrick McKee BSc BVetMed MRCVS, are highly experienced in diagnosing and repairing cruciate ligament injuries using a range of advanced surgical techniques.
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Orthopaedic Team
Our Orthopaedic Surgeons, Dr Patrick McKee BSc BVetMed MRCVS and Dr Niall Thompson MVB CertAVP(GSAS) PGCertVPS MRCVS, have repaired hundreds of cruciate ligament injuries.
Their expertise, meticulous surgical planning, and our practice-wide commitment to pain-free care consistently result in smooth recoveries and excellent long-term outcomes.
When a cruciate ligament tears, the back leg becomes unstable and inflamed. The joint surface wears down as the bones grind together, leading to pain and arthritis.
Walking becomes difficult, and the thigh muscles rapidly waste away through disuse. Left untreated, severe osteoarthritis develops, resulting in permanent joint damage.
The damage caused by Cruciate rupture
RW-TPLO
Our Gold-Standard approach
We offer a Gold-Standard approach to cruciate repair, performing a Rotating Wedge Tibial Plateau Levelling Ostectomy (RW-TPLO) — our refined adaptation of the Cranial Closing Wedge Osteotomy (CCWO), one of the gold-standard, evidence-based tibial osteotomy techniques for cruciate ligament rupture.
This procedure changes the angle of the top of the tibia (the tibial plateau) to eliminate the shearing force that occurs when the cruciate ligament ruptures. By mechanically stabilising the joint, it restores comfortable, confident movement without relying on the damaged ligament.
Peer-reviewed studies confirm that tibial osteotomy techniques such as CCWO and TPLO deliver the best short- and long-term clinical outcomes for cruciate disease — providing superior limb function, stability, and a faster return to normal activity compared with traditional suture-based repairs.
Our RW-TPLO technique builds on these proven principles, providing a secure, precisely engineered repair designed to maximise comfort, promote rapid recovery, and achieve durable results for dogs of all sizes.
Experts in Cruciate surgery. Pain free commitment.
Orthopaedic team
Our Orthopaedic Surgeons, Patrick McKee & Niall Thompson, have repaired hundreds of cruciate ligament injuries. Our expertise, unique surgical approach and pain free commitment consistently results in a smooth recovery and excellent long term exercise ability.
The damage caused...
When a cruciate ligament tears, the back leg becomes unstable and inflamed. The joint becomes damaged as the bones grind together.
Walking becomes very painful as arthritis progresses. The thigh muscles rapidly waste away through reduced use. If left untreated, severe osteo-arthritis sets into the stifle joint resulting in permanent joint damage.
What type of surgery is best?
There are many people offering cruciate surgery with many different methods. However, cruciate repair surgery requires a very careful and planned approach to get consistently good results, with great care taken in getting the detail of the surgery correct for each patient.
Patrick and Niall apply these meticulous surgical principles to every case. In most, but not all, cases, we operate using a modified Rotating and Reducing Cranial Closing Wedge Ostectomy (sometimes referred to as a Tibial Plateau Levelling Osteotomy, 'TPLO'). This is a technique we have uniquely developed to make the repair very secure, maximise comfort and achieve excellent return to exercise.
How do we get great results?
Cruciate Repair Testimonial
Pepper, 11yo, Cocker Spaniel
Before
After
Pepper, 11yo, Cocker Spaniel
Before
After
“We’re amazed at how quickly Pepper has recovered from 2 major surgeries in the space of 3 months! This can only be testament to the skills and ability of Patrick and Niall. We were kept updated every step of the way with texts and photos. The receptionists and nurses were caring & compassionate. Thanks to everyone for all your help!!”
Louise & Sam McElveen
Owner of Pepper the 11 year old Cocker Spaniel who has now undergone bilateral Rotating and Reducing Cranial Closing Wedge Ostectomy.