Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Pre and intraoperative planning helps reduce fractures in dog knee
By Collins, Josuha E et al.·Published in Veterinary surgery : VS·2014·Ocean State Veterinary Specialists·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Benefits of pre- and intraoperative planning for tibial plateau leveling osteotomy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs undergoing surgery for a torn knee ligament had better outcomes when their surgeons used careful planning before and during the procedure. Specifically, dogs that had preoperative and intraoperative planning for their tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) had centered cuts in the bone and did not experience any fractures of the tibial tuberosity, while those who had the surgery done without planning had a higher fracture rate. This suggests that taking the time to plan the surgery can lead to safer and more effective results for dogs needing this type of knee surgery.
People also search for: dog knee surgery recovery · TPLO surgery complications · dog tibial tuberosity fracture prevention
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine (1) if preoperative and intraoperative osteotomy planning increases the likelihood that a surgeon will achieve a centered osteotomy during tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) and (2) if that centered osteotomy reduces the risk of tibial tuberosity (TT) fractures. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case series. ANIMALS: Dogs (n = 406) with cranial cruciate ligament that had TPLO (n = 468). METHODS: Medical records (2007-2010) and radiographs of dogs that had TPLO were reviewed. Osteotomies from Group A (pre and intra-operative planning) were compared to Group B (free-hand osteotomy only) investigating the influence of osteotomy planning as well as 21 other variables, looking for any other confounding variables that may also contribute to TT fractures. Data were analyzed with logistic regression and χ(2) analysis. RESULTS: Actual osteotomies were closer to the centered-osteotomy position in Group A than in Group B (P ≤ .01). TT fractures occurred in 20 cases (4.3% overall). Group A had 0 fractures out of 172 surgeries and Group B had 20 fractures out of 296 surgeries (6.8%). Five variables were found to increase the risk of TT fractures: lack of osteotomy planning, bilateral same-session surgeries, osteotomy gap, anti-rotational pin location, and decreased tibial crest width at the insertion of the patellar ligament (P ≤ .05). CONCLUSIONS: Dogs that had osteotomy planning had a more centered osteotomy position and a reduced risk of developing TT factures.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24491234/