Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Llama born with knee ligament defect fixed with fascia graft
By Anderson, D E & McLaughlin, R M·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·1997·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Fascia lata autograft for treatment of congenital cranial cruciate ligament deficiency in a llama.
Plain-English summary
A 10-day-old female llama was brought in because she was walking abnormally on her right hind leg. The vet found that her knee joint was unstable due to a missing cranial cruciate ligament, which is important for knee stability. To fix this, the vet performed surgery using a piece of tissue from the llama's own body to stabilize the joint. Three years later, the llama was healthy, had given birth to a normal baby llama, and was pregnant again.
People also search for: llama walking problems · llama knee joint surgery · congenital knee issues in llamas
Abstract
An 11.4-kg female llama that had been born without assistance while its dam was under observation at the veterinary teaching hospital was observed to ambulate abnormally on its right hind limb. A cranial drawer sign could be elicited in the right stifle. Cranial displacement of the tibia relative to the femur and dysplasia of the proximal end of the tibia were seen on radiographs. When the cria was 10 days old, the joint was stabilized with a fascia lata autograft. At the time of surgery, a segment of thin, loose tissue was found where the cranial cruciate ligament would have been. Three years after surgery, the llama gave birth to a normal cria and was 60 days pregnant with a second cria. To our knowledge, congenital cranial cruciate ligament deficiency with tibial dysplasia has not been reported in llamas. The heritability of these defects is unknown.
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/9074686/