Intro
The Doctors at Pierz Vet Clinic have significant experience and training in a variety of soft tissue and orthopedic surgeries. Dr. James Van Stone has gone through specialized training to be able to perform specific orthopedic surgeries to help fix the most common orthopedic problems in dogs and cats such as CCL repairs, luxating patellar fixes as well as general internal fixation fracture repairs. With best-in-class imaging available at our clinic, we have the ability to diagnose complicated disease processes, perform excellent surgical planning, and assess for other medical issues.
General Surgical Experience
Both Dr. Van Stone and Dr. LaBorde, have significant general surgical experience in routine, emergency, and complicated surgeries of many types with Dr. James having specialized training in numerous orthopedic procedures.
Advanced Surgical Training
Dr. Van Stone attended training from Orthomed Academy, and was trained hands on by several board certified small animal surgeons in Fracture Repair, MMP, and Ridgestop procedures.
Specific Procedures
Below are some of the specific procedures that we offer at our clinic. If you are looking for a specific surgery that is not listed below, or looking for a price quote feel free to call and inquire!
MMP
Dr. James Van Stone was very excited to go to specific training to learn how to do an MMP procedure which is another procedure for CCL repairs in dogs. The Cranial Cruciate ligament is a very important structure within the knee and is the same as the ACL in people. Just like in people, the fix for a tear to the CCL is surgical for a long term fix and if no surgery is performed, dogs are at a high risk of developing arthritis in that knee. Dr. James is committed to offering this surgery at an affordable price.
Ridgestop For Luxating Patella
Small breed dogs are at an increased risk of luxation (dislocation) of the kneecap which is called the patella. When the patella is consistently dislocated it can lead to significant arthritis, in some cases surgical correction of this condition is required to prevent significant arthritis. One of the procedures used to correct a luxating patella is the Ridgestop which is where a small implant is placed on the ridge of the femur to prevent the patella from falling out of the groove, potentially causing arthritis.
Fracture Repair, Pin/plate/screw, External Fixators
We see a variety of fracture types for many different species. We offer traditional pinning, plating, and screws as well as we also have experience with external fixators for those complicated fractures. One of the big advantages is that before a fracture repair, we can perform high definition CT scans and see fractures in 3d which allows us to have detail-oriented planning prior to going to surgery. This helps to decrease risk of surgical site infections, decrease time under anesthesia, and have better outcomes compared to traditional radiographs.
Mass Removals
Whether your dog has a small or large tumor, we offer surgical consultation for simple and complex mass removal surgeries for everything from lipomas to sarcomas.
Emergency Surgeries
For emergency surgeries for foreign body removals, laceration repairs, c-sections, complicated wounds, animal attacks, hit by car, diaphragmatic hernias, GDV, and more we are equipped to handle most emergency surgeries.
Gastropexy
A gastropexy is a surgery that is often performed at time of sterilization to decrease the risk of a GDV which is a dangerous condition in deep chested dogs where the stomach can fill with gas and flip, leading to a life threatening condition called a Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus. If you would like to learn more about what a Gastropexy is and if it is right for your dog, please call to schedule a consultation with one of our doctors.