Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Medial elbow cartilage erosion in dogs diagnosis and treatment options
By Coppieters, E et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative orthopaedics and traumatology : V.C.O.T·2015·Faculty of Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Erosion of the medial compartment of the canine elbow: occurrence, diagnosis and currently available treatment options.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A dog with severe elbow pain may have erosion of the cartilage in the joint, which can lead to bone exposure. This condition can be tricky to diagnose because it often requires advanced imaging techniques or direct inspection through arthroscopy. Treatment options include both conservative methods and surgery, but the healing potential for cartilage is limited, making recovery uncertain. Unfortunately, the prognosis for dogs with this condition is generally not very good, as the damage to the cartilage is often irreversible.
People also search for: dog elbow pain treatment · canine elbow cartilage erosion · dog arthritis surgery options
Abstract
Erosion of the medial compartment of the elbow joint refers to full thickness cartilage loss with exposure of the subchondral bone (modified Outerbridge grades 4-5) of the medial part of the humeral condyle (MHC) and the corresponding ulnar contact area. This finding may appear in the absence of an osteochondral fragment or a cartilage flap, or in combination with fragmentation of the medial coronoid process (MCP) or osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) of the MHC. With regard to the prognosis, it is important to diagnose these severe erosions. Imaging of cartilage lesions by means of radiography, ultrasonography, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging is challenging in dogs. In contrast, direct arthroscopic inspection provides detailed information about the cartilage. The treatment of these severe erosions is difficult because of the limited regenerative capacity of cartilage and presumed mechanical or physical triggering factors. Several conservative and surgical treatment methods have been proposed to treat elbows with severe cartilage defects. However, due to irreversible loss of cartilage, the prognosis in these cases remains guarded.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25396224/