Dr Mayo frequently gets questions about other surgical procedures he commonly performs. Though not board-certified in surgery, many colleagues and other clients frequently refer patients and friends for more advanced surgical procedures not commonly performed in general practice situations. If you do not see the specific procedure you are looking for, please feel free to email or call to get answers to your questions.

ORTHOPEDICS

Dr Mayo is capable of repairing many different fractures in dogs and cats. He has the abilities to do bone plating, interlocking nail, pinning, and external fixation for fracture repair. If you are interested in Dr Mayo's opinion and/or an estimate for the cost of repair, please call or email for a location to send the x-rays for evaluation.

Cranial cruciate ligament is a common problem in dogs. This area is already covered in the pages entitled Tibial Tuberosity Advancement, and Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy. Prior to asking for an estimate, if you have already had x-rays taken of your pet, please send them to Dr Mayo for evaluation, along with medical records. You must have an examination and consultation prior to scheduling surgery.

If your pet has a "luxated patella", most commonly called medial patellar luxation, this is a common problem in small breed dogs. We recommend that it be repaired early so as to not allow your pet to progress to degenerative joint disease from chronic malalignment of the joints. If your pet has already had x-rays, please have them forwarded to Dr Mayo for a consultation. Dr Mayo uses more up-to-date repair methods, including wedge trochleoplasty, tibial tuberosity transposition, and limb realignment if needed.

If your pet has "bad hips" and is in need of repair or replacement, Dr Mayo can perform triple pelvic osteotomy, a procedure to realign the cup portion of the hip to better accept the ball in its proper position. If the hips are in really bad shape, they made need to be replaced. This can only be accomplished on dogs 25# and heavier. Please contact Dr Mayo for a consultation and cost estimate.

SOFT TISSUE

Portosystemic shunt is an uncommon problem of the liver, most commonly seen in the Yorkshire Terrier breed of dogs. Signs are most commonly seen around 4 months of age when your new puppy starts to vomit, have diarrhea, act lethargic, not gain weight, and act funny after it eats. The diagnosis is fairly straight forward, requiring a bile acid test. Once the test is done, if the numbers are high, your pet most likely has either PSS or another similar condition called hepatic microvascular dysplasia. Shunts can often be located via ultrasound, or a special study called a mesenteric portogram. Another test called a scintigram only prooves that your pet has a shunt and does not tell us where it is located. Often times, we end up doing exploratory surgery to locate the shunt. If it is located when your puppy is young, they have a good chance of recovering and leading a normal life.

We get lots of questions about debarking pets because we live in an area where there are high concentrations of homes or condo's and people's pets get left at home during the day while they go to work. "Debarking" is not as commonly done as it once was. It can be performed through the mouth, only requiring a few minutes of surgery time, but this technique is not always successful. Your pet may start barking again shortly afterwards, requiring a second-attempt at the procedure. Small breed dogs are very difficult to do, and often best done using an endoscope and laser method. Ideally, the best method is approaching the throat through the larynx, but the cost is usually double what the other procedure is, and there is more risk.

Declawing of cats is not as commonly done as it once was as little as 10 years ago. Many now consider it "in-humane" to the cat to remove its nails. Nonetheless, some people still request it. My recommendation is to have it done by laser if at all possible, as it seems to be less painful of a procedure. Good pain control practiced by clinics without lasers yields an equally successful outcome in some instances. Pet owners with diabetes or diseases that alter the immune system often have their cats declawed for health reasons of their own.

There are many other surgeries not considered "common" that Dr Mayo has performed. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. The section below is a slide presentation of some of the stranger things Dr Mayo has had the opportunity to perform.