When Delphi, a sweet and vivacious Labrador was only 14 weeks old, her owner, Esther, a human medical doctor, noticed something was wrong. Delphi kept limping and it was obvious she was in pain.
Esther took Delphi to the vet, and after a thorough examination, she was diagnosed with severe elbow dysplasia. In this condition, the bones of the elbow joint don’t fit together properly and become osteoarthritic.
Esther was devastated by this news. “It’s really tough when you’ve got a little puppy and they’re obviously in pain,” she says. Finding out that elbow dysplasia isn’t cured easily and needs lifelong treatment, made the news more difficult. “That’s really hard to accept because it’s not really what you expect when you have a puppy. It’s not what you want for her”.
At another veterinary clinic, Delphi had an arthroscopy which is a procedure where an arthroscope, which is a small video camera attached to a tube, is used to remove fragments of diseased bone. Delphi then had a second surgery but the limping and pain persisted.
That’s when Esther decided to search for a veterinary orthopaedic specialist who could help her with Delphi’s elbow dysplasia. “I was looking for something a little bit more advanced. And there aren’t that many specialists who do the elbows”.
Her local vet suggested Dr. Andrew Levien, who had received training in innovative elbow surgical procedures.
“I was looking for something a little bit more advanced. And there aren’t that many specialists who do the elbows.”
— Esther
Dr. Levien turned out to be the perfect orthopaedic specialist.
When he first examined Delphi, it had only been a few months since she had recovered from having an elbow joint infection. Dr Levien advised a six-month wait before attempting surgery to make sure there was no recurrence of the infection. Delphi was treated with anti-inflammatory injections until she was cleared for surgery.
In the meantime, Dr Levien discussed with Esther the various surgical options available. One option was the canine unicompartmental elbow replacement procedure, called CUE.
CUE surgery had rarely been performed in Australia but Dr Levien had received specialised training for the procedure. The CUE procedure uses implants that are made of human-grade titanium alloy that are designed to mimic the elbow joint.
“In this surgery, we place a humeral component and ulna component in the weight-bearing portion of the joint so that there’s no bone-on-bone contact anymore. It’s implant on implant contact throughout a range of motion,” says Dr Levien.
“Dr Levien was really great in terms of explaining what was going to be done and what we could expect”, says Esther. “He was really helpful and I knew what was coming. And he was always available if there were any problems.”
“Dr Levien was really great in terms of explaining what was going to be done and what we could expect.”
— Esther
Esther decided that the CUE procedure was the best option for Delphi. “I was really surprised how essentially everything that we can do for humans we can do for dogs as well,” said Esther. “I think it’s wonderful.”
Dr Levien performed the surgery and it was such a success that Esther decided she wanted the procedure performed on Delphi’s other elbow.
Dr Levien is thrilled with Delphi’s recovery. “She recovered much quicker than expected compared to the literature. Most literature reports dogs taking up to six months to recover. Delphi seemed to recover within three months and be back to her baseline, maybe even better than that”.
Esther couldn’t be happier. “We had a really, really good experience”, she says. “Delphi, despite all of her surgery, still loves coming to the vet. That’s obviously a testament to how well she gets looked after. She comes through the front door and first the receptionist greets her and then the nurse comes and she gets cuddles from her.”
“We had a really, really good experience.”
— Esther
Before her surgeries, Delphi would try to run around and play but she would struggle. Esther could see she was trying to keep up with other dogs at the park but couldn’t. “Having the surgeries has made a huge difference to her,” says Esther. “She’ll never be a sporty dog but she’s much more comfortable and it’s much easier for her to get around. You can see that she’s obviously much happier and now she can try to keep up with the other dogs.”
Esther is looking forward to a long future of walks and playtimes with Delphi. She’s grateful to Dr Levien for providing such wonderful care and has nothing but praise for him, his team and the innovative surgery techniques he’s introducing to Australia.
