Highline Veterinary Orthopedics

07/12/2025

In addition to orthopedic surgery, we can provide advanced sports medicine services directly in comfort of your regular veterinarians office. The most common non-surgical therapy we provide are therapeutic joint injections for the management of arthritis in companion animals.

Typically, we employ these therapies for joints with significant osteoarthritis where surgery is less likely to benefit return to function. The two most common joints we treat include elbow and hips, both of which can commonly develop arthritis secondary to congenital (hip or elbow) dysplasia.

Two medications that we use, alone or concurrent, include platelet rich plasma and polyacrylamide hydrogel.

🔬 What is PRP?
PRP utilizes the dog’s own blood to create a concentrated solution of platelets, which are rich in growth factors. When injected into an affected joint, these growth factors promote healing, reduce inflammation, and help regenerate damaged tissues.

💉 What are polyacrylamide hydrogel Injections?
“Arthramid” is a novel non-resorbable hydrogel that integrates into the joint lining (synovium) to form a thick, cushion-like layer. This helps to improve joint lubrication, reduce friction, and provide long-lasting pain relief and improved mobility, particularly beneficial for chronic conditions like dysplasia.

Injections are performed under sedation, ultrasound guided (when necessary), with a quick recovery.

Both PRP and Arthramid offer minimally invasive options that can significantly improve the quality of life for dogs suffering from elbow and hip dysplasia, or arthritis in other joints where surgery is not recommended.

02/11/2025

Sometimes pets present with soft tissue tumors in tricky spots, such as on the face. In this area, surgical removal can be tricky with inability to close the wound after excision.

Local transposition - advancement flaps can be very useful for mobilizing skin from adjacent to the open wound, allowing primary closure with sutures and healing within a couple weeks.

Above are two successful cases, on a dog and a cat, where local advancement flaps were used along the forehead to facilitate both successful removal and cosmetic closure.

31/10/2025

🦴Celebrating our golden girl’s 9th birthday today! 🐾 We love you, Connor ❤️

29/10/2025

A wonderful team to collaborate with.

28/09/2025

Sometimes we have the privilege of working with unique animals, beyond dogs, cats and horses. This is a 260lb miniature Scottish Highlander that was born with congenital hip dysplasia, confirmed via CT. We had the opportunity to collaborate and partner with an exceptional fellow surgeon and friend, Dr. Coppelman, to help perform FHO surgery. With surgery, we hope to improve long term comfort for this ‘large pet’ moving forward.

30/08/2025

Classic ‘greyhound’ style injury of a comminuted calcaneal fracture combined with luxation of central tarsal bone and proximal intertarsal joint luxation. Was a tricky reconstruction, with the calcaneous in three fragments, first held in place with bone reduction forceps, cerclage tension band and a 2.4mm lag screw. A 2.7mm plate was then placed lateral for additional support. The central tarsal bone was lagged from medial aspect using 3.5 cortical screw + washer. Expert assistance from in the OR.

27/08/2025

Jennica, our awesome summer vet student intern, is headed back for her 3rd year of vet school at the U of MN! She has spent the last two summers working with us, and we are so grateful for her help. She promises to come visit on breaks 🤞

12/08/2025

MVCT was in Mankato last week working with Highline Veterinary Orthopedics and Minnesota Valley Pet Hospital PA. We are proud to make CT accessible to greater Minnesota!

02/08/2025

MVCT was at Cannon Valley Vet Clinic & Retail Store this week. An adorable little Pomeranian had a CT scan in preparation for orthopedic surgery with Highline Veterinary Orthopedics. Good luck little pup! You’re in great hands!

20/07/2025

Transposition flaps and axillary fold flaps are valuable reconstructive surgical techniques for closure of medium to large wounds on limbs, such as occurs after mass/tumor/neoplasia removal in dogs and cats.

This local pedicle flap harnesses the redundant skin and subcutaneous tissue within the axillary fold to achieve tension-free closure following wide surgical excisions. Its robust vascular supply and favorable anatomical location contribute to optimal wound healing, minimized dehiscence risk and maintenance of limb function and comfort. Generally, healing occurs within 2-3 weeks. Occasionally, some skin flap stress can occur leading to increased swelling, bruising or occasionally incision dehiscence.

In this case, a sarcoma was removed with wide margins and did not facilitate primary closure (direct suturing). Loose skin from above the elbow was mobilized and rotated downwards to fill the defect, with the donor site then closed routinely.

09/06/2025

Rescue dogs can have some unique hidden stories. This dog was rescued a couple years ago with an unknown past. After some hindlimb lameness developed, he was examined by his primary veterinarian and radiographs identified a metallic bullet in the distal femur with suspect osteomyelitis surrounding the foreign body.

We explored the femur through a routine stifle approach and burred/debrided bone overlying the bullet, creating a window proximal to the trochlear ridges. The bullet was removed, medullary canal cultured and area treated for presumed infection. Based on culture results, we will follow up with suitable long term antimicrobials and trend progress with follow up exam/imaging.

10/05/2025

"Musculoskeletal adverse events in dogs receiving bedinvetmab (Librela)" Farrell et al., Front. Vet. Sci., 08 May 2025

Objectives: To conduct a specialist-led disproportionality analysis of musculoskeletal adverse event reports (MSAERs) in dogs treated with bedinvetmab (Librela™) compared to six comparator drugs with the same indication. Furthermore, to report the findings from a subset of dogs whose adverse event (AE) data underwent independent adjudication by an expert panel.

Methods: An EBVS® Veterinary Specialist in Surgery individually reviewed all MSAERs to Librela™, Rimadyl®, Metacam®, Previcox®, Onsior®, Galliprant®, and Daxocox® (2004–2024). The primary null hypothesis was that Librela’s MSAER rate would not exceed that of comparator drugs by more than 50%. The secondary hypothesis was that MSAER would surge and taper following the launch of new drugs.

Results: The disproportionality analysis did not support the hypotheses. Ligament/tendon injury, polyarthritis, fracture, musculoskeletal neoplasia, and septic arthritis were reported ~9-times more frequently in Librela-treated dogs than the combined total of dogs treated with the comparator drugs. A review of 19 suspected musculoskeletal adverse events (MSAEs) by an 18-member expert panel unanimously concluded a strong suspicion of a causal association between bedinvetmab and accelerated joint destruction.

Conclusion: This study supports recent FDA analyses by demonstrating an increased reporting rate of musculoskeletal adverse events in dogs treated with Librela. Further investigation and close clinical monitoring of treated dogs are warranted.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2025.1581490/full?fbclid=IwY2xjawKMGuVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFxSjV2UHVHY2FXWHZ5TjFGAR5dfEqULtG0IZr65I_DE0U9OEUgVr4h84crt9_nF8I16qKqBnyTdnabbFPD-w_aem_6acDgLiZHgYUOaR2NizRQA

ObjectivesTo conduct a specialist-led disproportionality analysis of musculoskeletal adverse event reports (MSAERs) in dogs treated with bedinvetmab (Librela...