Buffalo Grove veterinary hospital to open new rehab center
BUFFALO GROVE - Veterinary Specialty Center, a veterinary specialty and emergency hospital headquartered in Buffalo Grove, is expected to open Thursday, Aug. 18, with a pet rehabilitative center, the VSC Athletic Center. The 8,600-square-foot space aims to help meet the demand for an increase in rehabilitative services, largely due to the rise of orthopedic pet surgeries over the past several years. Located at 1495 Busch Parkway, one block west of its main location, the new facility will offer additional rehabilitation treatments with VSC's state of the art equipment, including underwater treadmills, circulation therapy, laser therapy and more.
According to the American Pet Products Association, an estimated $15.92 billion will be spent on U.S. veterinary care this year. With Americans as a whole spending more on their pets than ever before, orthopedic surgeries such as tibial-plateau-leveling osteotomy and tibial tuberosity advancement, commonly conducted for the equivalent of torn ACLs in dogs, have continued to rise in popularity. In fact, orthopedic surgeries, currently the most commonly performed surgeries at VSC, have doubled in the past three years.
"Orthopedic, musculoskeletal and sports-related injuries are extremely common in companion and working animals and represent a major component of our most challenging cases," says Mitch Robbins, chief of surgery at VSC. "Just like with orthopedic and neurosurgery in humans, pets that undergo rehabilitation after surgery have a shorter recovery time than those that do not. We are excited to offer the advanced equipment and space for additional rehabilitation services in our new facility to provide our patients with an even better, more customized experience."
The rise of orthopedic surgeries at VSC and elsewhere can be attributed to several factors, including increased knowledge of available treatment options, aging pet complications, owners being more active with their pets and conversely, pet obesity. With an estimated 58 percent of cats and 54 percent of dogs in the United States overweight or obese, according to Pet Obesity Prevention, excess weight can increase the chance of injury and thus create the need for rehabilitative treatment.