Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Spayed or neutered dogs have higher risk of ACL injury
By Slauterbeck, J R et al.·Published in Clinical orthopaedics and related research·2004·Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine ovariohysterectomy and orchiectomy increases the prevalence of ACL injury.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that dogs who had been spayed (females) or neutered (males) were more likely to suffer from anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, which can cause sudden limping in the hind legs. The research looked at over 3,200 dogs and showed that those who were sterilized had a higher rate of ACL injuries compared to those that were not. Larger dogs were particularly affected, showing even more injuries than smaller dogs. This suggests that spaying or neutering may increase the risk of ACL injuries in dogs, regardless of their breed or size.
People also search for: dog limping after spay · ACL injury in neutered dogs · why is my dog limping after surgery
Abstract
To determine whether canine ovariohysterectomy or orchiectomy affects the prevalence of anterior cruciate ligament injury, we compared injury rates of anterior cruciate ligaments of animals that had gonadectomy and animals that were sexually intact as a function of gender, breed, or size. Records of 3218 dogs treated in one orthopaedic veterinary practice during a 2-year period were retrospectively reviewed. Anterior cruciate ligament injury, diagnosed by a history of acute hind limb lameness and by positive anterior drawer test, was confirmed at the time of surgery. The prevalence of anterior cruciate ligament rupture in all dogs was 3.48%. Females that had ovariohysterectomy and males that had orchiectomy had a significantly higher prevalence of anterior cruciate ligament rupture than the sexually intact dogs. Larger dogs had an increased prevalence of anterior cruciate ligament injury compared with smaller or medium-sized dogs, with the increased rupture rates for sterilized animals holding across breeds and sizes. Sterilization of either gender increased the prevalence of anterior cruciate ligament injury, suggesting a potential effect of gonadal gender on prevalence of injury of this ligament.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15577502/