Fracture Repair
There are two main categories to fractures: open and physeal. Open fractures divide into further subcategories of transverse, oblique, spiral, comminuted reducible, and comminuted nonreducible. Physeal fractures also go into further categories applying to fractions of the growth plates.
Amputation
Occasionally, there is so much damage to a limb that it cannot be fixed. Other times there is a disease, like an aggressive bone cancer, that makes the bone painful, as well as untreatable. For this there is amputation: an option only when there are no more options left.
ACL
ACL's are ruptures or tears of the anterior cruciate ligament. ACL's can be caused by injury or extended deterioration of the ligament. Degeneration of the ligament can be caused by old age, conformational abnormalities, weight, etc.
Patellar Luxation
Patellar luxation occurs when the patella is displaced from the trochlear sulcus. Medial patellar luxation occurs mostly in small dogs, and lateral patellar luxation occurs mostly in larger breeds.
Mass Removals
There are numerous categories for masses, from cancerous to benign tumors. Masses are simply lumps of tissue or fat that have grouped together in ways that are not typical. Some mass removals may be done for aesthetic purposes, and others to assist mobility, health, comfort, etc.
Hernias
There are different classifications of hernias. The most basic definition of a hernia is where an organ protrudes from the fascia that normal contains it. Most commonly they are found in the abdominal wall, and more often than not they are easy to fix.
