3D technology helps a severely disabled dog to not just walk but run again!
A 2-year-old female Terrier mixed-breed named Willie Wonka has undergone a rare life-changing surgery to fix deformed forearms, which made her unable to walk normally.
Christine Hilberg fostered Willie Wonka and has now adopted her. She says the surgery plan developed by Dr. Laurent Guiot at the Bone & Joint Center at ACCESS Specialty Animal Hospital in Los Angeles used custom 3D printed guides.
"It was very extreme. She was born with deformed front legs and she was walking on her carpal joints," Hilberg says to KNX 1070 News. "He actually created a 3D model of Willie's legs to help him figure out the best way to proceed and what he would do once he was in there."
Willie needed many weeks of recovery - but now is now the fastest pooch at the dog park.
Willie Wonka has come far from that after undergoing surgery. Willie's left leg is now healed but she will have surgery later on this year on her other leg.
“We had just completed six months of twice-a-week therapy sessions in hopes that both of her legs would straighten but we only saw success in her right leg. There was no change in her left leg, she was still wheelchair-bound or in a brace, which left her continually exhausted,” said Christine Hilberg, who adopted her, in a press release. “A friend recommended ACCESS and we met with Dr. Guiot who quickly got to sketching out the surgery and recommended we schedule it as soon as possible.”
Willie is also on Instagram below or at https://www.instagram.com/chilberg/?hl=en
