Southpaw Veterinary Orthopaedic Centre

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Southpaw Veterinary Orthopaedic Centre

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Southpaw Veterinary Orthopaedic Centre, Veterinarian, The Old Dairy Yard, Welsh Way, Ready Token, Cirencester.

A family run, independent veterinary referral service dedicated to the investigation and treatment of musculoskeletal trauma, injury and disease in dogs and cats.

24/12/2025

Wishing all our fantastic patients, their amazing families and our veterinary colleagues a wonderful Christmas from us all at Southpaw!

11/12/2025

The patella or kneecap is a small bone that sits within the quadriceps tendon at the front of the stifle (knee) joint.

Patella luxation, or dislocation, is when the patella moves out of its normal groove on the femur and pops to the side. This can happen either to the inside (medial) or outside (lateral) side of the leg. This results in abnormal stifle function, pain and lameness.

Corrective surgeries include soft tissue release and tightening, trochleaplasty (groove deepening), tibial tuberosity transposition, distal femoral osteotomy and patella groove replacement. Affected animals may need a combination of these procedures to prevent the patella from dislocating.

If you have a patient, or pet, that is affected by patella luxation please get in touch to see if we can help.

03/12/2025

Arthrodesis is the surgical immobilisation of a joint by fusion of the bones either side.

This is most commonly indicated for treatment of chronic joint instability or unmanageable pain from conditions such as osteoarthritis. It can also be used when a joint has not formed properly or when a fracture in a bone is too close to the joint to allow repair.

If you have a patient, or pet, affected by chronic joint instability or pain please get in touch to see if we can help.

17/09/2025

A flying visit to Palma in Mallorca for the European Society of Veterinary Orthopaedics and Traumatolgy (ESVOT) annual conference.

The theme this year was challenging joint surgery. An excellent and informative program of lectures and updates on current research was presented over two days. It's a great conference to make sure we are up to date with all the latest developments and also a fantastic opportunity to catch up with colleagues.

04/09/2025

Angular limb deformity (ALD) is when the bones grow in an abnormal direction or length. This can result from an injury to the growth plates (the section of the bone that produces new bone in a growing animal) or can be a developmental issue due to the natural conformation of the animal (for example Shih Tzus and bulldog types). In paired bones, such as the radius and ulna, if one bone stops growing prematurely then an ALD can result.

The result of ALD can be altered posture, abnormal joint congruity, lamenss and pain. Examination, radiographs and CT analysis are usually required to evaluate and characterise the deformity.

The treatment for ALD depends on the age of the patient and type of deformity. The aims of surgery include improving posture, alleviating pain and improving joint congruity. This is often achieved by cutting the abnormal bone and correcting its alignment. The accuracy of this surgery, and the outcome, is greatly enhanced using 3D CT planning and patient specific guide systems.

In young patients where there is still bone growth happening there are surgeries that can be carried out to influence, and correct, the remaining growth of the bone.

If you have a patient, or a pet, with an angular limb deformity please get in touch to see if we can help.

25/07/2025

Are you a Registered Veterinary Nurse (RVN) with an interest in all things orthopaedic? Come and join our friendly team out in the beautiful Cotswold countryside.

Contact us for more details at [email protected]

We'd love to hear from you! 🦴🩻

16/07/2025

Cranial cruciate ligament rupture is the most common orthopaedic problem in dogs and this causes instability of the stifle (knee) joint. Affected dogs will have hind limb lameness and stiffness. Sometimes the signs will appear suddenly, but in other cases they develop more gradually. The ligament ruptures due to a degenerative change in most cases and although traumatic rupture can occur, this is uncommon. Both partial and full ruptures can be seen.

In the majority of cases surgical management is recommended and would be expected to give the best outcome. Tibial plateau levelling osteotomy (TPLO) is the surgery we carry out most frequently and evidence shows this technique gives the best results. The surgery involves cutting and repositioning the top of the tibia (shin bone) to alter the way the forces go through the stifle (knee) joint resulting in joint stability. A period of rest and exercise restriction is required after the surgery to allow the bone to heal in its new postion. Lead walks can be started at two weeks post surgery. Radiographs are taken at six weeks to ensure the bone is healing as expected.

The outcome is expected to be good following TPLO surgery with over 90% of dogs returning to normal activity without requiring ongoing medication.

If you have a patient, or a pet, who has a cranial cruciate ligament rupture please get in touch to see if we can help.

07/07/2025

Meet the lovely Miss Lady, another of our awesome patients who we have had the pleasure of treating.

She was run over by a car resulting in multiple pelvic and hind limb injuries including a bilateral sacroiliac luxation, a fractured acetabulum (hip socket) and a fractured femur. These were all repaired surgically using screws, pins and plates.

Despite being physically small she has a massive resilience and her happy personality was never dampened throughout her recovery. Miss Lady went on to make a full recovery and was soon back to her normal tricks.

24/06/2025

Hip dysplasia (HD) is a developmental disease which results in laxity in the hip joints. This laxity can cause pain and lameness during the growth phase with signs often becoming apparent from six months of age. This tends to persist until skeletal maturity at around eighteen months of age. Due to the abnormal formation of the joints secondary osteoarthritis will develop, usually from twelve months onwards. This can also cause lameness and pain.

Investigation of a patient with hip dysplasia includes examination, radiographs, joint fluid analysis and, in some cases CT.

Treatment of HD can either be conservative or surgical. Conservative management includes weight and exercise control, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and analgesia. Surgical managements include total hip replacement (THR) or femoral head and neck excision (FHNE). THR offers the best solution for optimum hip function.

If you have a patient, or a pet, who is affected with hip dysplasia and would like to discuss the options to manage this condition please contact us.

$Meet outstanding Oliver who was malciously shot by a airgun pellet, resulting in a comminuted fracture of the femur. A ...$

18/06/2025

Meet outstanding Oliver who was malciously shot by a airgun pellet, resulting in a comminuted fracture of the femur. A comminuted fracture is when there are more than two fragments of bone.

He underwent surgery to remove the pellet and the broken bone was repaired with an interlocking nail (Biomedtrix I-Loc). Interlocking nails provide rigid fixation and can resist bending forces in all directions allowing early weight bearing on the limb.

Oliver is recovering well following his ordeal and is expected to make a full recovery.

11/06/2025

Fractures usually occur following some kind of trauma incident such as a road traffic accident or a fall and can affect any bone. Multiple factors are taken into consideration when deciding on the best way to treat a fracture and include the age of patient, which bone is broken, the pattern of fracture and post operative care.

The first step in planning a fracture repair is getting high quality images and we have DR radiography and CT to enable us to do this. There are multiple fixation systems available including pins, wires, plates, external fixators and interlocking nails. We stock all of these implants enabling us to fix any type of broken bone.

If you have a patient, or a pet, who has suffered a fracture please get in touch to see if we can help.

05/06/2025

Snoopy, a labrador retriever, was one of the amazing dogs we have treated here at Southpaw. He was diagnosed with elbow dysplasia based on physical examination, a CT scan and joint fluid analysis. The CT scan identified a fragmented medial coronoid process which is the most common finding in labradors with elbow dysplasia. Arthroscopy was carried out to assess the cartilage and remove the fragment. Following this, the lameness improved and Snoopy was much happier.

If you have a patient, or a pet, affected by elbow dysplasia please get in touch to see if we can help.

Address

The Old Dairy Yard, Welsh Way, Ready Token
Cirencester
GL75SY

Telephone

+441285704170

Website

http://www.southpawvets.co.uk/

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