Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Screw placement side affects complications in dog elbow surgery
By Carwardine, Darren et al.·Published in Veterinary surgery : VS·2024·Bristol Vet Specialists, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Medial versus lateral transcondylar screw placement for canine humeral intracondylar fissures: A randomized clinical trial.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with humeral intracondylar fissures (a type of elbow injury) underwent surgery where screws were placed either from the medial (inner) or lateral (outer) side. The results showed that dogs with screws placed from the lateral side had a higher rate of complications, including infections and fluid buildup, compared to those with screws placed from the medial side. In fact, 62% of the dogs in the lateral group experienced complications, while only 19% in the medial group did. Based on these findings, veterinarians now recommend placing screws from the medial side to help reduce the risk of complications after surgery.
People also search for: dog elbow surgery complications · humeral intracondylar fissure treatment · dog surgery infection signs
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine the influence of screw direction on complications following transcondylar screw placement for the treatment of canine humeral intracondylar fissures (HIFs). STUDY DESIGN: Equivalence, parallel group, randomized clinical trial. SAMPLE POPULATION: Fifty-two client owned dogs (73 elbows). METHODS: Transcondylar screw placement was randomized to either a medial or lateral approach. The primary outcome was the incidence of postoperative complications. RESULTS: There were 37 cases in the lateral approach group and 36 cases in the medial approach group. There was a significantly greater proportion of postoperative complications following placement of transcondylar screws from a lateral to medial direction (p = .001). There were seven cases with complications (19%) in the medial approach group versus 23 cases with complications (62%) in the lateral approach group. The majority of complications were seromas (n = 13) and surgical site infections (n = 16) with 4 complications requiring further surgery. Implant area moment of inertia (AMI), normalized to bodyweight, was lower in dogs with a major complication (p = .037). CONCLUSION: Transcondylar screws placed from lateral to medial for canine HIFs had a greater proportion of postoperative complications in this randomized clinical trial design. Implants with a lower AMI, relative to bodyweight, were more likely to lead to major complications. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: We recommend placing transcondylar screws from medial to lateral for canine HIFs to reduce the risk of postoperative complications. Relatively small diameter implants had an increased risk of major complications.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37435744/