Dr David Barrowman in all his gear with an x-ray of a dog's knee joint. Photo/Shauni James
A local vet has recently completed his 21st tibial tuberosity advancement surgery.
Dr David Barrowman completed the milestone surgery last week.
He says it is great this high-tech surgery is happening in "little ol' Rotorua".
"From our perspective it's cool Rotorua is doing very high tech orthopedic surgery on dogs which is certainly not done everywhere."
The surgery helps to get a very lame dog back to being mobile, and this particular surgery helps get them back quickly, he says.
David says in dogs' knee joint there are two ligaments and the front one tears.
He says the way they fix it with the surgery is by putting in a titanium wedge made by a 3D printer, chosen for that particular dog.
David says they make a cut in the bone and move the front of the bone further forward, and then put the wedge in there to keep it forward.
A plate with titanium screws is also used to hold it all together.
He says it used to be a surgery only done by specialist vets in cities such as Auckland or Hamilton.
At Vetora they were trained and started doing the surgery a year ago.
"Most of the dogs are doing really well after surgery and are back to full work or fun."
He says it is a reasonably complicated orthopedic surgery and they get dressed up in gowns, masks and gloves.
David says it is a real team effort from start to finish and he could not do it without the nurses.
He says being able to offer the surgery in Rotorua means dog owners did not have to travel to other cities to get it done.
David says they have done the surgery on dogs from other areas Taupo and Auckland.
The airport is built on land confiscated by the Crown in 1866.