The Red and Black

Issue date: 6/11/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Courtesy Jim Cartee Sapphire, a 12-year-old black Labrador from Augusta, received Georgia's first clinical canine knee replacement surgery on April 10 from Steven Budsberg, a University professor. [Click to enlarge]

Canines with severe joint pain and arthritis may soon get a new leash on life as clinical trials proceed for a new surgical technique.

Veterinarian Steven Budsberg, a professor at the University's College of Veterinary Medicine, and William Liska, veterinarian at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists in Houston, performed Georgia's first clinical canine knee replacement surgery on April 10. The dog that underwent the surgery was 12-year-old Sapphire, a black Labrador retriever from Augusta.

Jim Cartee, Sapphire's owner, said the dog had been plagued with health problems such as hip dysplasia for much of her life, and in the past five years had both of her hips replaced. Cartee said Sapphire blew out both of her anterior cruciate ligaments when she was two. When Sapphire recently blew an ACL for the third time, Cartee said he was "at wit's end."

"I had a cripple with two new hips," he said in a telephone interview.

Cartee said he decided to go forward with the knee replacement surgery after consulting with Budsberg, who had been Sapphire's vet for several years.

Liska flew in from Houston to assist with the $4,000 procedure, which was performed at the College of Veterinary Medicine.

"Knee replacement surgery in dogs is similar to the procedure performed in humans," Liska said.

He said the surgery is mainly performed to "relieve chronic joint pain from arthritis," and therefore improve joint function. Liska has been working with engineers at BioMedtrix, a veterinary orthopedics company based out of New Jersey, since 2001 to create "the prosthesis and instrumentation, as well as the surgical technique" for the knee replacement.

Budsberg described the prosthesis as having three main components.

He said the top of the tibia is removed and a metal composite tray is cemented in place. A jig, which "looks identical to the knee itself," is attached to the femur. He referred to the femoral component as a "press fit," into which the bone will grow.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools