Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO)

The TPLO procedure stabilizes the knee by leveling the tibial plateau. In our example of a car parked on a hill, the hill is leveled eliminating the need for the brake. Radiographs of the knee are taken prior to surgery. Using specific landmarks, the surgeon will measure the tibial plateau angle (slope) and accurately and precisely determine the amount of rotation that is needed to reduce the angle to between 5 and 8 degrees. During the TPLO procedure, the surgeon will make a curved cut (osteotomy) in the top of the tibia and rotate the segment so that the load-bearing surface of the tibia is between 5 to 8 degrees. A plate is then applied to hold the tibia in this position and allow for the bone to heal.  Recovery time following the TPLO procedure is approximately 2 to 3 months. Following TPLO surgery, patients use the limb and are more comfortable much sooner than following the Extracapsular Stabilization. Additionally, studies show that there is less arthritic development long term following the TPLO verses the Extracapsular Stabilization (Lazar T, Vet Surg, 2005). For these reasons, the TPLO is considered by most veterinary surgeons to be the “gold standard” for correcting this injury.  The TPLO can be performed on dogs as small as 10 pounds up to 200 pounds or more.