Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat patellar ligament rupture surgery and recovery outcomes
By Das, Smita et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2015·Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Patellar ligament rupture in the cat: repair methods and patient outcomes in seven cases.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A cat with a ruptured patellar ligament (the ligament that helps stabilize the knee) was treated with surgery after suffering trauma. The surgery involved stitching the ligament back together, and in some cases, additional support was provided to keep the knee stable during recovery. After about a month, five out of the seven cats showed good recovery and were able to use their leg normally again, with no complications or need for further surgery. This suggests that the surgical methods used for dogs can also be effective for cats with similar injuries.
People also search for: cat knee injury treatment · cat patellar ligament repair · why is my cat limping · cat surgery recovery time · cat leg function after surgery
Abstract
The medical records of cats receiving surgical treatment for unilateral patellar ligament rupture between 1999 and 2012 at 12 referral centres in the UK and Ireland were reviewed. Seven cases were identified: six were caused by trauma and one was iatrogenic, occurring as a complication following surgical stabilisation of a tibial fracture. All cases were treated by sutured anastomosis of the ruptured ligament, with six of the repairs protected by a circumpatellar and/or transpatellar loop of suture. The stifle was immobilised by transarticular external skeletal fixation in three cases. No cases required revision surgery. No complications were reported. Final evaluation, performed at a median time of 31 days, determined five patients to have returned to acceptable or good limb function; two cases were lost to follow-up. The data suggest that, in cats, the current surgical techniques extrapolated from their canine counterparts for repair of a completely or partially ruptured patellar ligament are successfully used and result in acceptable limb function.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25074568/