RRVSS

Good news Monday! Remember Thea? She presented to RRVSS through Dogwood Animal Rescue Project for evaluation of an angular limb deformity of her front left limb. She was diagnosed by Drs Fetherston and Helms with a premature distal ulnar growth plate closure, and elbow incongruity. Basically, her left ulna stopped growing early, and her radius continued to grow causing her forearm to twist and bend inward, and her elbow joint to not line up properly. CT scan was performed and phase 1 of her treatment was performed; distal ulnar osteotomy and interosseous ligament release (we freed the radius to continue to grow, which allowed her elbow joint surfaces to relax into a more normal position).
Now that Thea is full grown, another CT was performed to allow 3D printing of her radius and ulna, from which a custom Osteotomy and Reduction bone plate could be manufactured. Essentially, the bone plate guides the bone cut angles, aligns and compresses the new bone ends into their new, straight position and is then applied to the radius with screws to hold it in place for healing! Sooooo Cool!
Now for the cherry on top! Check out the video Thea’s family sent to us of her enjoying the water bark at Spring Lake!
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orthopedi

We were so very honored to visit our colleagues in Humboldt county, to host an exciting talk on Synovetin OA.  With the backdrop of the Humboldt Zoo, Flamingos 🦩 squawking at sunset, and the Skywalk through the canopy it was an amazing location to catch up with friends and meet some new ones.  Dr. Fetherston delivered an informative talk on the interesting and novel joint therapy, Synovetin OA. This therapy is a game changer for arthritic pets, and their owners. For more information and to find out if your pet is a good candidate, please reach out at [email protected] or (707) 909-7420.

…And stay tuned for the next installment of Synovetin man, where he must thwart the evil Doctor Prostaglandin!
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Ashley is an unknown aged Chihuahua cross, whom is a true hero!
At Karuna rescue where she was being housed, a trip to the feed room for the rescue coordinator could have ended a lot differently… they came upon a bear whom had broken in. As they tend to do, she and her other chihuahua friend rushed the bear attacking it as savagely as they could. This distracted the bear enough for the coordinator to get back away from the bear. They saved her life…Unfortunately, you don’t step to a bear without consequences. Her counterpart had many holes/wounds that required emergency attention. Ashley presented to RRVSS with a fractured scapula, and unfortunately it involved the joint itself. The team repaired the fracture with 3 divergent pins guided using fluoroscopy, through the fragment and into the extremely narrow end of the scapula. Not a lot of hardware, but certainly a tedious procedure in such a small dog, requiring precise repair as to give her shoulder joint the best long term outcome. You don’t escape a bear encounter without a good story. We are just glad that we could help make it a story with a happy ending! 🐻
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Congratulations to our newest Registered Veterinary Technician, Katelyn! 🥳💐👏

After years of school, hours of studying, and quizzing our team for the past few weeks to feel confident for her test she has successfully passed her Veterinary Technician National Examination (VTNE)!

We’re so proud to watch her join the ranks of RVT 🐾❤️ cheers to furthering your career and elevating the standard of medicine!

Now offering Lego VelociRaptor Total Hip Replacements.
Rosie the Raptor was presented to RRVSS by her extremely distraught and cute owner, who had found Rosie lying on the bedroom floor with her leg disarticulated across the room. The team swept into action, salvaging the limb, but alas the hip joint was destroyed. As to not leave Rosie with an immobile hip that would have left Rosie unable to hunt, Dr. Helms busted out the heavy equipment. He replaced Rosie’s hip in a grueling 5 minute procedure, allowing her to regain full mobility. Her owner was visibly pleased, and the pretend hunt of her brother’s Lego creatures commenced.
You saw it here first, the world’s first “Published” LVR THR.
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Happy National Dog Day!!!! 🤍🐾
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The interesting thing about our precious girl Lena, is that both her knees are built differently! Yes she has Patella Luxation on each, but for different reasons.
The first side required a partial prosthesis to give her knee cap an artificial groove to stay in! The second side was just done a few weeks ago, and required correcting her shin bone (tibia) to align her knee, and a deepening of her existing trochlea (patellar groove) to give the kneecap something to track in using her native cartilage (no prosthetic).
Keep in mind, why we originally saw her was that she had a forelimb injury prior to being rescued that essentially rendered that limb non-functional. RRVSS diagnosed her bilateral Patellar Luxation and determined the best course of action was to give her 3 good limbs to walk on… then we could decide IF an amputation of the non-usable front limb was necessary.
She’s on track to have two fully corrected patella Luxations, and improved use of her hind limbs. We are hoping she remains comfortable on her non-useable front limb and does not need it amputated!
Go Lena, you are such a brave Girl!
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