Southern View: August 24, 2023

Thursday August 24 2023 5
the barriers
than that of boys (48.9 per cent).
This winter season, they had enough
registrations for two rugby teams, two
football teams and three netball teams,
and the success of the programme has also
allowed Tamai to grow its partnerships
with other community organisations in
the Tamai Learning Cluster.
He Waka Tapu chief operating officer
Tanith Petersen said their partnership
with Tamai aims to provide young people
with skills and experiences to set them up
for the future.
“He Waka Tapu is all about supporting
tamariki through Tamai Sports, helping
them embrace tikanga and nurture their
cultural identity,” Petersern said.
Looking ahead, Tamai is expanding its
nutrition programme, providing healthy
meals to 80 tamariki following their sports
training for the 16-week programme. A
cookbook for participating whānau is
underway, and there are plans for a new
‘teach tamariki to cook’ initiative, which
will see them help chefs prepare their
weekly meals.
South Island funder Rātā Foundation
and other significant funders like Te
Pūtahitanga have supported Tamai Sports
for the last three years. Tamai’s work to
strengthen the hauora of tamariki by
removing barriers to accessing training or
games and designing a programme that is
accessible and culturally appropriate aligns
with the Rātā funding focus priority to
provide equitable access to participation
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opportunities in sport and active
recreation in communities of need.
Rātā has provided $60,000 of funding
since 2021, including capacity-building
support to evaluate their mahi with Ihi
Research.
Said Rātā Foundation chief executive
Leighton Evans: “The real strength of
Tamai Sports is their holistic approach to
health, wellbeing and participation.
“Their programmes harness all of the
great values of active participation in
sport, allowing Tamai to connect with
whānau, schools and community to
support the wider hauora of tamariki.
“The growth of their programmes
and reach shows their commitment to
removing barriers to participation and
collaborating with other community
organisations to achieve the best results for
tamariki in Christchurch east.”
CLUSTER: Jaxton, Khloe and Tara-
Louise go to one of the seven
schools involved.
Introducing
Annabel
Judd
Annabel lives and works locally, she
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Allied Press, for many years.
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PATELLA SURGERY
Recently I have had the opportunity
to learn a technique for patella
luxation in dogs, under the guidance
of Specialist Surgeon, Dr Helen Milner.
Helen worked as a specialist surgeon
at MMH a few years ago so we have a
very good working relationship. Helen
is now primarily working alongside
veterinarians as a surgical coach so I
thought it would be as good time for
myself and a colleague to learn a new
technique so we can offer our patients
more when it comes to patella luxations.
Essentially patella luxation is a
dislocation of the kneecap either
medially or laterally to the trochlear
groove. Luxations can be medial or
lateral. Medial patella luxation ( MPL) is
relatively common in small breed dogs.
Breeds most at risk of MPL are Poodles,
Pomeranians, Chihuahuas, Yorkies,
Bichon Frise and Retrievers. The disease
can be bilateral. It is considered an
inherited, developmental disease, that
starts early on in life. Some dogs with
MPL will rupture their cranial cruciate
ligament necessitating repair. MPL
also predisposes dogs to developing
degenerative joint disease.
Charlie, a 3 year old Chihuahua was the
patient I selected for the surgery. Charlie
has a grade 2-3 patella luxation, meaning
the patella mostly pops out medially
with each stride, but can slide back into
place. Charlie is difficult to assess awake
as he’s not a fan of vets in general, not
just me. We needed to perform sedation
and radiographs to really evaluate
the stifle and decide if he was a good
candidate for surgery. He often lifts the
left hindleg when standing or running,
skips and double jumps on the left side.
Most days the owners reported he lifted
the left hind leg. Charlie is otherwise
extremely healthy.
Patella luxations are graded 1-4 based
on the severity of disease. Once the
animal is relaxed and sedated the patella
can be manually assessed and graded.
The anterior cruciate ligament can be
palpated. Radiographs are important
as we can see if there is pathology or
osteoarthritis in any other joints, which
may contribute to surgical success.
Surgical correction was considered the
right approach for Charlie based on his
MPL grade and frequent lameness and
daily pain exhibited. The main goal was
to realign the stifle extensor apparatus
and normalise forces acting on growth
plates and joint surfaces. We wanted him
to be able to run on all 4’s, without pain
or lameness, enjoying his life to the full.
A “Tibial Tuberosity Transposition” ( TTT)
surgery was planned for Charlie to move
the patella tendon over, realigning the
quadriceps muscle through the centre of
the trochlear groove. Helen is an expert
here and you can observe from the X-ray
attached, that a section of cranial tibia
was sawn off and repositioned laterally
with the help of pins and a figure of 8
wire. After completion of this technique,
the patella couldn’t be subluxated out
of position. Some soft tissue suture
patterns were also employed to help
keep the patella in its correct position -
the trochlear groove.
A large padded bandage was placed
on Charlies leg for 48 hours, to help
provide stability, stop licking of the
suture line and help with pain. He was
discharged with excellent pain and anti
inflammatory medications and exercise
instructions. Activity is restricted for
6-8 weeks following surgery, but physio
and hydrotherapy can be started after
the sutures are removed. Radiographs
need to be repeated at the 8 week mark
to make sure the osteotomy site has
healed, then exercise can be adjusted
accordingly.
All in all it was a procedure that we
want to be able to offer at McMaster &
Heap vets. We have all the orthopaedic
equipment and the perfect surgical
coach to teach a couple of keen vets
(one young and one a senior!) that want
to learn a new technique that will benefit
many of our patients in the future.
Dr Michele McMaster
Open 7 days Cnr Hoon Hay & Coppell place ph: 338 2534
e. reception@mcmasterandheap.co.nz www.mcmasterheap.co.nz