Arthritis of the elbow is one of the top four body sites affected by arthritis in dogs.  A new artificial canine elbow replacement system has been developed that shows great promise and new hope for dogs. An orthopedic elbow implant called the TATE System has been produced that is minimally invasive and causes little trauma to the 4-legged patient. The results of the clinical trials are proving exceptional for surgeons and dogs alike.

For veterinarians, the complexity of the surgery is comparable to that of a hip replacement operation. The surgery takes about 3 hours. Tate, a yellow lab, after whom the implant is named, suffered from severe elbow dysplasia and was the first recipient. Tate’s owner had initially tried the usual protocols:  injections, arthroscopic surgery, acupuncture and pain medications without success. He then teamed up with biomedical engineer Greg Van Der Meulen, who helped in moving Acker’s initial idea on to mechanical development.

BioMedtrix, founded in 1989, based in New Jersey launched the licensing of the TATE System and teaching courses are currently being scheduled throughout Europe and the United States. Interested surgeons can contact BioMedtrix for more information on the TATE system and workshops.