Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog patellar ligament rupture surgery outcomes in 43 cases
By Das, S et al.·Published in The Veterinary record·2014·Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Patellar ligament rupture in the dog: repair methods and patient outcomes in 43 cases.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A dog with a torn patellar ligament (the ligament that helps stabilize the knee) underwent surgery to repair the injury. The surgery involved reattaching the ligament and using different materials to support the repair. After surgery, some dogs had their knees immobilized with special devices, while others did not. Most dogs (about 75%) had good or acceptable outcomes after the surgery, but a few needed additional surgery due to complications. Overall, this shows that while surgery can be effective, there can be risks involved, especially if the injury is related to previous surgeries.
People also search for: dog knee surgery recovery · torn ligament in dog treatment · dog patellar ligament repair outcome
Abstract
The medical records of dogs receiving surgery for unilateral patellar ligament rupture between 1999 and 2012 at 12 multidisciplinary referral centres were reviewed. Forty-three cases were identified; 26 were traumatic in origin; almost one-third were iatrogenic, of which over three-quarters occurred as a complication following surgical stabilisation of patellar luxation. Treatment involved primary reapposition of the ligament (36 cases). The repair was protected by circumpatellar and/or transpatellar loop(s) of orthopaedic wire, nylon, polypropylene or polydioxanone suture (34 cases). Wire loops were more likely to require surgical removal compared with loops of other materials (P=0.0014). The stifle joint was immobilised postoperatively by the applications of a transarticular external skeletal fixator (taESF) in 17 cases and by external coaptation (EC) in 8 cases; in 18 cases, no postoperative joint immobilisation was provided. Complications specific to the method of immobilisation occurred in seven of the cases with taESF and six of the cases with EC. Revision surgery to address failure of repair was required in five cases. Outcome was classified as acceptable or good in over three-quarters of the cases (31/40) and poor in less than a quarter (9/40). These data highlight patellar ligament rupture as a complication of surgical stabilisation of patellar luxation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25053269/