Surgery

We perform most types of general soft tissue surgery including but not limited to spay/neuter, skin lump removal, abdominal surgery for tumors, intestinal foreign bodies, bladder stones, biopsies, stomach tacking to prevent torsion in large breed dogs, and C-sections. We also perform eyelid surgery for entropion and eyelid tumors, and ear surgery for tumors and chronic ear infections. We can remove thyroid tumors in cats and also perform perineal urethrostomy for male cats to help with repeated urinary obstructions.

We also perform orthopedic surgery for broken bones and joint injuries, including cranial cruciate ligament tears and luxating patellas. We perform the Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO), CORA-based Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (CBLO), as well as extracapsular stabilization for cranial cruciate and meniscal tears in dogs. We can apply pins, wires, bone plates, and extra skeletal fixation devices for fractures depending on the fracture and the patient.

Orthopedic Surgery

We offer many different orthopedic procedures for your pet and are one of the few vet clinics in Western New York to provide these services. Dr. Scott Nachbar has been performing orthopedic surgeries for many years, seeing about 50 orthopedic cases yearly. We offer many different types of orthopedic services for dogs and cats, including:

Fracture repairs

Did your pet get its leg stuck in the couch or fall off the bed? Did they get stepped on or accidentally kicked? Did they get run over or hit by a car? Many circumstances unfortunately happen that can cause bone fractures, but here at Scott G. Nachbar, Veterinarian, we can help! Bone fractures must be repaired quickly, so don’t delay calling if you think your pet has a fracture.

Amputation

Do you think your pet may need an amputation? There are many reasons a pet may require an amputation: bone cancer, a bad break that can’t be fixed with surgery, or infection. Whatever the reason might be, many factors go into determining if your pet is a candidate for amputation. Most pets do very well with amputations! We do many different types of amputations: legs, tails, toes, etc. Please call our office today to set up a consultation with Dr. Nachbar to find out what is best for your pet.

Cruciate Repair

Is your dog limping on his back leg? Has your vet diagnosed a torn cruciate ligament? Dr. Nachbar performs both TPLO and extracapsular repairs for failed cruciate ligaments. Learn more here (links to Torn Cruciate page).

Femoral Head Ostectomy

Is your dog or cat having hip trouble? Chronic pain from hip arthritis and medicines not working well enough? They may benefit from a Femoral Head Ostectomy (FHO) surgery to relieve the pain from the worn-out joint and provide them with better mobility. Learn more here (links to FHO page).

OCD

Do you have a young medium to large breed dog limping on a front leg? One possibility is Osteochondritis Dissecans (OCD) which can be relieved with surgery to remove the damaged cartilage.

Torn Cruciate

Has your dog ruptured its cruciate ligament? Does your dog need knee surgery? At Scott G. Nachbar, Veterinarian we perform two stifle surgeries for torn cruciate ligaments: Extracapsular Repair and Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO). Many factors go into deciding what surgery is best for your beloved pet: cost, activity level, age, the weight of your pet, etc. We recommend coming in for a consultation with Dr. Nachbar so that he can discuss the options and decide together what is the best choice for your pet.

What happens if I don’t do surgery?

Since the knee is unstable without an intact cruciate ligament, the wearing between bone and cartilage becomes abnormal and the joint develops irreversible degenerative changes. Pain and lameness persist, and the opposite leg becomes stressed. Please contact your veterinarian or come in for a consultation to find out the options for your dog.

A Leveling Osteotomy (CBLO, TPLO) is often the best option for active, large dogs. CBLO and TPLO change the biomechanical function of the knee joint to stabilize the cruciate deficient stifle joint. After exploring the joint, removing damaged ligament fragments and any torn portions of the meniscal cartilage, and smoothing bone spurs, the tibial plateau is rotated to a more level position, greatly reducing the role of the missing cranial cruciate ligament and allowing the remaining ligaments and tendons to provide joint stability in its absence. It provides the best long term function and can greatly reduce the development of arthritic, degenerative changes over time. It is a complicated surgery since the bone must be precisely cut, rotated, and stabilized with a bone plate and screws. The CBLO is an improvement over the older TPLO surgery, providing a more secure fixation, better centering the forces of weight bearing, and avoids cutting the bone of the stifle joint. It also allows for correction of stifles with extremely steep tibial plateau angles.

Extracapsular Repair is a technically more straightforward procedure than CBLO/TPLO to treat a cruciate rupture. As in the CBLO/TPLO surgery, the damaged cruciate ligament is removed, damaged portions of the meniscal cartilage are removed, and any bone spurs are smoothed. A strong suture is then passed around the stifle joint to provide stability while the stifle heals. Depending on several factors, this option may be sufficient for your pet, although arthritic changes continue to progress over time, and the strong suture loosens somewhat.

Rehabilitation after surgery is essential in helping your dog recover better after surgery. Your dog will be restricted to a leash only and minimal activity for 8 to 12 weeks, slowly building up activity afterward. We recommend that our patients undergo a 6-treatment therapeutic laser series that helps speed healing and reduce swelling after the surgery. Your pet will receive two laser treatments after the surgery itself, one right after the surgery before they wake up from anesthesia and then the morning after surgery, having stayed in the hospital overnight.

To learn more about Post Surgical Care your pet would receive after their knee surgery, click here: post-surgical-care-of-bone-joint-surgeries.pdf.

To learn more about the Rehabilitation care for your pet if they were to undergo TPLO surgery (note this is rehabilitation after the initial 8 weeks after surgery), click here: rehabilitation-regimedoc.pdf

Femoral Head Ostectomy

Does your dog or cat have hip pain? There could many reasons why this could be: A dislocated hip, arthritis in the hip, or a broken femoral head. It’s important to contact your vet or our office for a consultation to find the cause and if surgery is right for them.

A Femoral Head Ostectomy (FHO) is the surgical removal of the diseased “ball” part of the ball and socket hip joint, and the smoothing of sharp bone spurs. This surgery creates a false joint in hip muscles that eliminates the pain from a worn-out hip joint grinding itself up. Your pet might benefit from this surgery if there is severe arthritis due to hip dysplasia or injury, and medications are not working well enough. Pets of all sizes can benefit from this surgery if needed.

Luxating Patella

Does your small breed dog have limping issues on and off? Does it run three-legged one minute and seem fine the next? Then your dog might suffer from a medial luxating patella (loose kneecap) that can be fixed surgically depending upon the severity. A medial luxating patella is also referred to as a “trick knee” which means the knee cap (patella) slips out of the smooth groove, allowing it to slide up and down.

There are four grades of medial luxating patella, grade one being the mildest and four the worst—usually, dogs with grade 2 or worse benefit from surgery. Depending on the severity, some dogs can pop it back into place on their own after a minute or two. A dog can have just one knee with this issue or both, and surgery can be done on both knees simultaneously if needed.