Advanced Surgical Services

With an esteemed veterinary surgeon, Dr. Blanchette.
 New Layer Request Appointment A green leaf-shaped abstract design on a white background evokes the professional touch of a skilled vet. The jagged edges and smooth curves resemble stylized natural foliage, reminiscent of the care and nurturing environment found in a veterinarian's practice. A veterinarian, donned in gloves, expertly performs a precise procedure with a scalpel and forceps on an animal patient draped in blue. Additional veterinary tools are neatly arranged on the drape.

Meet Dr. Blanchette Dr. Blanchette attended veterinary school at Colorado State University, and once in practice, she quickly developed a passion for orthopedic surgery. She has pursued training from many board-certified veterinary orthopedic surgeons over the years, and has mastered many advanced surgical techniques, such as fracture repair, tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO), and toggle hip procedures. Although she is most passionate about surgery dedicated to cruciate rupture, meniscal disease, and musculoskeletal trauma, she performs a variety of orthopedic and soft tissue procedures. Dr. Blanchette strives to stay abreast of the latest technology and pursue additional training to provide her patients with the highest quality of care possible.   
 
When she is not working, Dr. Blanchette enjoys beekeeping, gardening, running, and hiking in our beautiful state with her husband and son. A person with curly hair, wearing a blue sweater is sitting outdoors in front of lush green foliage. This smiling veterinarian looks at the camera, exuding warmth and compassion.

Case Stories

Two greyhounds stand side by side outdoors, one in a colorful striped shirt and the other in blue. Their alert expressions suggest they're ready for a playful vet visit, set against a blurred natural backdrop.

A greyhound named Charlie was referred to me for a fractured femur. Even at the age of 9 she was extremely athletic. Athletic enough to fracture her femur running and spinning around her sister greyhound in the back yard. Her owners were amazing as was she. The type of dog that enjoyed people and would lean in and solicit rubs even when her femur was broken into many pieces. They decided to have surgery done and she recovered well. She now enjoys playing and romping around her sister, whom owners report is a much more relaxed and lackadaisical grey hound.

A person with short blonde hair and sunglasses, possibly a vet, holds a happy brown dog with its tongue out. The dog looks over the person's shoulder in the sunny green outdoor setting.

Koda, a 1-year mixed breed, was referred to us for a femur fracture. Her owner was a young man and Koda was his first dog as a young adult. She was a little timid when I first approached her, but she quickly warmed up. Despite being in pain from a femoral fracture, she got up to say hi to everyone who walked in the door, much to her owner’s distress. This young man obtained financing to pay for the surgery for his dog. Throughout her recovery, he was extremely detailed, knew exactly what medication and when it was given, how well she had been moving and using her limb. She recovered without any complications and has gone on to live a happy active life with her young man.

A brown and white bulldog rests with a sad expression, wearing a translucent cone after the vet visit. A pink heart shape frames part of the image, adding a soft, loving touch.

Frida is a 4 year old bull dog who was seen on the weekend at the local ER for run over by her owner’s truck. She was, and still is, a fan of chasing and biting at tires. We saw her for a consultation for an amputation because the damage was so severe to her hind paw. She had a bandage on her paw. Upon removing the bandage, I saw extensive soft tissue damage, dirt contamination, all of the bones of her foot (metatarsals) were broken, some were sticking out of the skin and the bottom of her paw was mangled as well. We decided the damage was too severe, I performed extensive cleaning and wound care and scheduled amputation later in the week. She returned for amputation and upon admit, I removed the bandage. Miraculously the wound was much cleaner, the tissue healthier. After discussed this improvement with the owner and with Frida being a heavily muscled and slightly overweight dog, I didn’t think she would do well with an amputation and neither did the owner. He elected to give surgery a try in order to give her a chance to keep her limb. Surgery was long and difficult as much of the bones had been fragmented extensively. After plating the bones and repairing the extensive soft tissue damage, she headed into recovery and home. She returned for many bandage changes. And due to her tenacious pursuit of the tire, or jumping on the couch, she had some set backs in her recovery. Over about 3 months her skin healed and her bones healed in a very unusual fashion due to the extensive trauma. Despite this she walks or rather runs with a slight limp and is a very happy little bull dog.
A small black and white dog with long ears is wearing a burgundy sweater and sitting on a fluffy gray blanket, looking calm and attentive, as if ready for its next vet visit.

Tallulah is a now 16-year-old shih tzu mix with a ton of energy and tenacious personality. She started limping on her hind limb and it was determined she ruptured her cruciate ligament. This happened when she was 15 years old. I discussed the details of cruciate rupture and how TPLO surgery can provide immense stability, comfort and decrease the amount of arthritis formation. After much deliberation and discussion regarding anesthesia risk for an older dog, they decided to proceed with TPLO surgery. Her procedure went fabulously and without complication. Two weeks after surgery, she was so comfortable with the repair, she was bearing 75% of her weight on the surgery limb and bossing us all around in the exam room. She healed well and without complication. I saw her about 3 mos ago for her 16-year-old senior exam and you could not tell she had had knee surgery.
A fluffy, light brown dog with curly fur lies on a wooden walkway in a park, tongue out and looking happy after a visit to the vet. The background features blurred trees and a wooden fence, suggesting a sunny day.

Porterhouse was a 9.5-year-old doodle when I first saw him. When I came in the room, he immediately put his head in my lap and demanded I rub his luxurious floppy ears. He was there that day because he was limping on his right hind limb. We determined he had ruptured his cruciate ligament. After we discussed TPLO surgery and the recovery, his owner decided to move forward with surgery. The surgery was so successful at helping Porterhouse, he walked out of the hospital after surgery, gently using the leg. 2 weeks after surgery he was bearing 50% weight on the surgery leg and 8 weeks was fully weight bearing. His owner split her time between Washington and California, so I didn’t see him for 6 mos. And when he came back in, I could not tell he had had surgery by just watching him walk.

Surgical Specialties

Orthopedics

  • Cranial cruciate ligament tears-TPLO, CBLO or lateral suture
  • Patellar luxation repair
  • Hip luxation-toggle hip repair
  • Femoral head and neck excision (FHO)
  • Broken bones/fracture repair
  • Corrective osteotomy for growth deformity
  • Amputation
  • Advanced TPLO for excessive slopes
  • Medial patellar luxation
  • Advanced MPL combined with Distal femoral osteotomy

Soft tissue

  • GI surgery-gastropexy, foreign body, mass removal, biopsy and more
  • Ear canal ablation
  • Bladder stones, cystotomy
  • Perineal urethrostomy
  • Salivary mucocele
  • Splenectomy
  • Mass removal
  • Wound repair