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Orthopedics small pets (vet)

How do you refer a patient?

Our department works by appointment only. Appointments are made on the basis of availability:

Monday - Friday: between 8.15 a.m. and 11 a.m.

During the weekend we only deal with emergencies.

Please contact our secretary's office for an appointment or for more information

Phone number: +0032 (0)9 264 77 00

secretariaat.khd@ugent.be

Our offices can be reached Monday till Friday from 8 a.m. till 4 p.m.

Which examinations and treatments do we offer?

Our clinic has an excellent reputation throughout Europe for diagnosing and resolving lameness problems. This usually means that we keep on looking for the exact cause where you might be stuck as a vet. We gladly take on this job for you so that we can refer back a satisfied client/patient to you. As we keep on looking for the exact cause, this might mean that quite some examinations and costs are made. We therefore recommend to inform the owner before you refer the patient to us. We always start with the simplest techniques (radiography, ultrasound, ...) but it is possible that more specialized techniques are necessary to make a final diagnosis (CT, MRI, scintigraphy, ...). Did you take scans or perform supplementary medical imaging yourself? Please provide us with these images or send them to doorverwijzen@gmail.com. In this way we might save time and money for the owner.

Within our clinic we have excellent and thorough knowledge of the following disorders and techniques:

• Lameness examination
• Pressure plate test
• Arthroscopies
• Dislocation of the patella (patelluxation)
• Torn ACL (osteotomy techniques, imbrication or tensioning of the joint capsule)
• Hip dysplasia
• Fractures (splint, braces, plate and screws, intramedullary nail, external fixation)
• Emergencies/limbs saving operations

How do you prepare the owner?

We are a University Animal health clinic. This means we are a certified training center for future veterinarians. The first contact or consult is always done by senior or final-year students. After consultation the Assistant Professor or Professor will examine the dog further.

Waiting time can be quite long. Our clinic is often very busy and we regularly treat clinical cases that can not be resolved by a veterinarian. These individual cases often require more time and more specialized methods to make a diagnosis. We advise you to warn the owner that making a diagnosis takes an entire morning.

We always plan a preliminary consultation when there are lameness complaints. We want to assess the complaint of the animal well. By scheduling a first consultation we avoid that unnecessary surgery is planned. This is unfavorable for our own planning and is unfair for other owners who have to wait longer for their animal to have surgery. Furthermore there are different alternatives for treatment, each with their own (dis)advantages and costs. We discuss this thoroughly with the owner in a personal talk. This obviously does not apply to emergencies.

Examination and surgery are done on fasted animals. Very often sedation or general anesthetics are necessary to make a diagnosis. Please make sure your animal has not been fed after 10pm the night before the procedure. It is always a pity if we have to let the owner and the dog return home because we cannot proceed.

If the dog is 7 years of age or older we also ask to carry out a blood exam and to provide us with the results. In this way we can assess the general health of the animal and sedation or anesthetics will proceed more quickly and easily.

Did the animal already undergo radiography or other imaging techniques? Please send us the results and scans prior to your appointment at doorverwijzen@gmail.com. Please mention the name of the owner, the name of the animal and the date of your appointment. Unfortunately we do not have the time to contact the referring veterinary practice to retrieve images. If we do not receive any pictures beforehand, new scans or pictures will have to be taken.

Do you have a question about a patient or are you questioning if referral is the best option? Do not hesitate to contact our secretary's office and ask to speak one of our team members.

More information about certain disorders or treating methods.

Indicative prices orthopedics

Warning! The prices mentioned are only indicative. Every case is different and the exact estimate of the price can only be made after accurate evaluation of the animal and its condition.

Consultation (possible sedation and scan not included): +/- € 150

Exploratory surgery/Arthroscopy: depends on the disorder, the imaging techniques that have to be carried out and the number of joints.

Arthroscopy 1 joint diagnostic: +/- € 1.200

Arthroscopy 2 joints treatment: +/- € 1.800

Arthroscopy 2 joints treatment: +/- € 2.800

Surgery of the cruciate ligament

Simple technique: +/- € 1.200

Osteotomy technique (TTA Rapid, TPLO, CBLO): +/- € 2.400

Patella surgery: +/- € 1.800 - 2.200

Removal of the femoral head : +/- € 1.200

All surgery is performed with the utmost care and sterility by our specialized team.