Community Animal HospitalsGuided by AAHA standards · St. Petersburg, FL
Community Animal HospitalsGuided by AAHA standards · St. Petersburg, FL
A kneecap that slips out of place, repaired by a veterinary orthopedic surgeon in our own surgical suite in St. Petersburg. Your pet has the surgery at Community Animal Hospitals and, in most cases, goes home the same day. Before any work begins you receive a written, itemized estimate.
Tell us what your veterinarian has told you — including the grade, if they gave one — and whether x-rays have been taken.
A luxating patella is a kneecap that slips out of its groove. It is most common in small dogs, and it happens in cats too. You may see a skip in the step — a few strides on three legs, then back to normal — or a pet that kicks the leg out to pop the kneecap back.
Veterinarians describe it by grade, from 1 (slips out occasionally and goes back on its own) to 4 (out of place all the time). The grade, and how much it affects your pet, guide whether surgery is recommended.
The repair realigns the kneecap so it tracks in its groove. Where the groove itself is too shallow to hold it, the groove is deepened — trochlear regrooving — as part of the same surgery. One knee or both can be repaired. The surgeon decides the approach after reviewing the x-rays.
We examine your pet and image what needs imaging, on our own digital x-ray equipment. If your veterinarian has already done this, we work from their records.
For all proposed diagnostics and treatment, before any work begins. Nothing is scheduled until you have seen it and said yes.
Pre-surgical labs are run in-house and reviewed before the day of surgery — never drawn the morning of.
In most cases your pet goes home the same day. Rechecks and suture removal are included.
A veterinary orthopedic surgeon operates at Community Animal Hospitals, in our own surgical suite. Our own team looks after your pet before and after — the same people you would see for anything else.
Questions about the surgery itself are answered by the orthopedic surgeon. They usually come through one of our own doctors first, who knows your pet’s history and brings the surgeon in.
No referral needed. If your veterinarian has already taken x-rays, bring them, email them to petcare@communityanimalhospitals.com, or tell us on the form who has them and we will request them for you.
We quote after we know. Cost depends on one knee or both, your pet’s size, and what the x-rays show the repair will need. Once we have the x-rays you receive a written, itemized estimate before any work begins.
You receive a written, itemized estimate for all proposed diagnostics and treatment before any work begins. You will never get a bill you have not approved. If we find something unexpected during surgery, we call you before doing anything about it.
Many of our clients find that financing part or all of the procedure through Cherry works best for them.
According to Cherry, the application takes under 35 seconds from start to finish, and “Cherry performs a soft credit check which does not affect your credit score.”
Check your options with Cherry
We also accept CareCredit and Scratch Pay.
Most people are less worried about the procedure than about the anesthesia. That is a fair worry, and it deserves a straight answer.
Pre-anesthetic bloodwork tells us how your pet’s liver and kidneys will handle the anesthetic drugs. It is also how we catch the problem that changes the plan — before we start, not during.
The catheter means immediate access to a vein if we need it, rather than looking for one in an emergency. Fluids maintain blood pressure, which is what protects the kidneys under anesthesia.
A trained technician is assigned to your pet’s anesthesia and does nothing else for the duration — heart rate and rhythm, blood oxygen, blood pressure, temperature and breathing, continuously, with hands on your pet.
Anesthetised animals lose heat quickly, and a cold patient recovers badly — slower waking, more shivering, more pain. Active warming runs through the procedure and into recovery. It is unglamorous and it matters.
Almost never, and age by itself is not the reason to decline. In the largest study of US primary-care practice — 822 hospitals — the anesthetic death rate was 0.05% in dogs and 0.11% in cats. What moves that number is health status, not age: in sick patients it rises roughly twenty-five fold. Which is why what we do before the procedure matters more than the number on the birthday.
Bloodwork, a physical examination, and a plan built around what we find. If something turns up that changes the risk, we tell you before the day, not after.
AAHA’s 2023 senior care guidelines: “Advanced age alone is not a contraindication to general anesthesia.”
We do not provide overnight care. For most procedures your pet goes home the same day — home is quieter, and you are the person who notices first when something is not right. You will go home with written aftercare instructions and a number to call if anything worries you.
If your pet does need overnight monitoring, we will say so and refer you to a 24-hour facility that can give it. That is a judgment made on the day, about your pet — not a policy.
Most pets go home wearing a cone (an e-collar) so they cannot lick or chew at the incision while it heals.
Recheck visits and suture removal are included in the surgery price.
Questions after you get home go to us — six days a week, 7:30am–6:30pm.
5895 54th Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33709
Clients travel as far as 15–20 miles for surgery with us, from St. Petersburg · Gulfport · Pinellas Park · Seminole · Bardmoor · Tyrone Square · South Pasadena · Kenneth City · Lealman and beyond · Open 7:30am–6:30pm, six days a week
It depends on one knee or both and what the repair needs. After the x-rays you receive a written, itemized estimate before any work begins.
No. A low-grade kneecap that rarely slips and does not bother your pet may not. The grade, the x-rays and how your pet is moving decide it, and we will tell you plainly which side of that line your pet is on.
No. You can contact us directly. If your veterinarian has x-rays, we can request them for you.
Activity is restricted for several weeks — short lead walks, no jumping and no stairs — with a gradual return after that. Recheck visits are included.
Yes. Orthopedic surgery here is done for cats as well as dogs.