Once Upon a Cruciate Repair..

Originally published in the Nelson Weekly, June 2026

  

Nelson Vets exists to serve the fluffier members of the Nelson community (along with their human representatives, of course!) With this goal in mind, we provide support to local charities such as SPCA, who do amazing work getting pets into their fur-ever homes. And this is where our first story starts.

When we first met the gorgeous Twiggy, a sweet-natured Collie-Cross, she had a ruptured cruciate (a ligament found in the knee). This injury is a bit like an ACL tear in humans – so, in short, not much fun!

Cruciate ruptures are one of the leading causes of knee pain in dogs. A ruptured cruciate makes the knee joint unstable, leading to rapid arthritic deterioration. In most cases, surgery is the recommended solution to restabilize the joint.

Thankfully, our surgeon, Dr Adam Stanyer, was on hand to patch Twiggy up. Adam travelled to the USA to get specifically trained in this procedure, which is quite different to human cruciate surgery - we make a circular cut in the Tibia (shin bone) and rotate the bone so the angle of pressure through the knee changes. Twiggy’s surgery was a success. Following eight weeks of restricted activity - which allows for the bone to heal - she gradually returned to her normal exercise routine.

Shortly after, she found her forever home with the lovely Lindsey and Andy, who were fully supportive of her recovery journey. We recommended that she stick to a healthy diet and take joint supplements to encourage gradual muscle growth and weight loss. After one knee has had surgery, the other leg tends to take more of the workload putting the other cruciate at increased risk of injury. In fact, statistics suggest 30-50% of dogs who have had a cruciate rupture will eventually experience the same issue in the other leg. Currently, there are no known preventative measures for this second occurrence.

Unfortunately, Twiggy was one of the unlucky ones - a year after her first surgery, she came back in for a second surgery with on her other leg. Once again, Twiggy was an absolute trooper - she bounced back from her second surgery just as well as the first, and soon enough she was back to living her best life quickly.

Her owner Lindsey says one of the biggest differences for Twiggy post-surgery is her ability to engage with exercise and high-energy play - before the surgery, she wasn’t allowed to fetch sticks, as the risks would have been too high that she’d injure herself. Now, she’s able to go on longer walks - Twiggy particularly loves Bob’s Track, Piper’s Reserve, and the Grampians - and in the summer, she loves going to Kina Beach to play fetch. Lindsey says that seeing Twiggy’s joy when she’s chasing her favourite stick has made it all worth it.

Twiggy has shown incredible resilience over the last couple of years. And now, at nearly six years old, she’s absolutely thriving.

She actually helped her dad Andy train for the Firefighters Sky Tower Challenge, which he completed just last month (legend!).  He raised over $5000 for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand, and we’re sure his ‘Canine Coordinator’ is extremely proud of his efforts.