Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How often do toy breed dogs with knee ligament tears have meniscus
By Kikuchi, Yuki et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative orthopaedics and traumatology : V.C.O.T·2025·VCA Japan YPC Tokyo Animal Orthopedic Surgery Hospital, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Incidence of Medial Meniscus Injury Detected by Arthroscopy in Toy Breed Dogs (≤5 kg) with Cranial Cruciate Ligament Rupture.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old Chihuahua was diagnosed with a torn cranial cruciate ligament (CrCLR) after showing severe limping. During an arthroscopic examination, the vet found that the dog also had a medial meniscus injury (MMI), which is common in these cases. The study showed that dogs with more severe lameness and complete ligament tears were more likely to have this additional injury. The Chihuahua's treatment plan would need to address both the ligament tear and the meniscus injury to ensure a full recovery.
People also search for: Chihuahua limping treatment · dog knee injury recovery · cranial cruciate ligament tear in small dogs
Abstract
To investigate the frequency and factors of medial meniscal injury (MMI) associated with cranial cruciate ligament rupture (CrCLR) in toy breed dogs by arthroscopic evaluation.Toy breed dogs (≤5 kg) diagnosed with CrCLR using stifle arthroscopy were included. Age, sex, body weight, breed, medial patellar luxation grade, degree of lameness at diagnosis, and duration of lameness until diagnosis were obtained from medical records. The tibial plateau angle was evaluated using preoperative radiography. On arthroscopic evaluation, degree of CrCLR was classified as partial or complete; MMI was classified as no, mild, or severe injury. MMI grade was used as objective variable; ordered logistic regression was used, and the final model was created using forward-backward stepwise selection.Overall, 202 stifles of 178 dogs were evaluated. Arthroscopic evaluation revealed partial and complete CrCLR, and MMI in 58, 144, and 74 stifles, respectively. MMI with mild and severe damage was noted in 50 and 24 stifles, respectively. Final model included body weight, lameness score, and degree of cranial cruciate ligament damage. A grade 3 lameness score had a higher MMI factor than grade 1. Higher body weight was associated with MMI, and complete rupture had a higher MMI factor than partial tears.Arthroscopic evaluation of CrCLR cases showed MMI in toy breed dogs. Cases with complete CrCLR or severe lameness are at high risk of MMI and should be evaluated cautiously.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40233818/