Arthroscopic surgery to fix biceps tendon luxation in police dogs

Abstract

CASE DESCRIPTION: A 7.5-year-old 37.8-kg (83.2-lb) sexually intact male German Shepherd Dog (dog 1) and a 2.6-year-old 28.2-kg (62.0-lb) sexually intact male Dutch Shepherd (dog 2), both apprehension police dogs, were admitted for evaluation of left and right thoracic limb lameness, respectively. CLINICAL FINDINGS: In both dogs, signs of pain were elicited on palpation of the shoulder joint in the affected limb, and a distinct popping of the biceps brachii tendon (BT) was palpable on the craniomedial aspect of the affected joint on flexion and extension and was associated with moderate signs of pain. Biceps brachii tendon luxation (BTL) was diagnosed with dynamic musculoskeletal ultrasonography (both dogs) and MRI (dog 1). TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: Arthroscopic BT release by tenotomy was performed in both dogs. Lameness appeared to have resolved by 8 weeks after surgery and had not recurred by the last follow-up communications at 36 and 9 months after surgery for dogs 1 and 2, respectively. Both dogs successfully returned to their level of work performed before their injury. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Our findings for the dogs of the present report suggested that arthroscopic BT release could be considered a viable treatment option for BTL in dogs, including police dogs or other high-performance athletic dogs. Although our findings provided encouraging results, further research, best conducted with a multicenter prospective randomized study, would be needed to establish the most reliable treatment of BTL in high-performance athletic or working dogs.