23 Jul 2021
North-east referral practice carries out second ankle replacement on a Labrador retriever using an innovative system – two years after first procedure with same system on another ankle.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
Vinny following his world-first BioMedtrix double ankle replacement at Wear Referrals.
A leading animal hospital is claiming a world-first double ankle replacement on a dog after carrying out groundbreaking surgery two years apart on a Labrador.
Neil Burton – assisted by orthopaedic surgeon Maciej Krukowski – at Wear Referrals in Bradbury, County Durham, first used the BioMedtrix canine ankle replacement system on four-year-old Labrador retriever Vinny in 2019. He was the first dog in the UK to benefit from the technology.
The first surgery was on Vinny’s right hindlimb ankle and was a success, but two years on he required similar treatment on the left hindleg.
Dr Burton said: “Vinny first presented to us at Wear Referrals in 2019 with hindlimb lameness. He was diagnosed with OA in his hock joints bilaterally due to a developmental condition called osteochondrosis of the talus, causing him ongoing pain and lameness.
“We operated on the right ankle, with Vinny becoming the first dog in the UK to have this ankle replacement system placed.
“Vinny was significantly more comfortable on this limb postoperatively, but his lameness progressively worsened in the left hindlimb. The decision was made to perform the same surgery on the left ankle, making Vinny the first dog in the world to have this surgery performed bilaterally.
He added: “Vinny has made another fine recovery from surgery and is now off medication, meaning he can exercise unrestricted and pain-free without a lifetime reliance on painkilling drugs.
“For our team at Wear to be able to offer him this pioneering surgery has been a great opportunity. He’s now a unique case, being both the first UK recipient of this BioMedtrix joint replacement as well as the world’s first bilateral ankle replacement with the same system.”
