Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Rehabilitation advice after dog knee ligament surgery in 2017 survey
By Eiermann, Jennifer et al.·Published in Veterinary surgery : VS·2020·Clinic for Small Animal Surgery·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Recommendations for rehabilitation after surgical treatment of cranial cruciate ligament disease in dogs: A 2017 survey of veterinary practitioners.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A survey of veterinarians found that most recommend rehabilitation after surgery for dogs with cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL) disease, which often causes limping and knee pain. About 71% of veterinarians suggested some form of rehabilitation, especially after certain types of surgery, like extracapsular stabilization. They generally do not recommend bandaging beyond the first 24 hours after surgery. This indicates a growing support among vets for structured recovery plans to help dogs heal properly after CrCL surgery.
People also search for: dog knee surgery recovery · cranial cruciate ligament rehabilitation for dogs · post-surgery care for dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To report current recommendations made by veterinarians for rehabilitation after surgical treatment of cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL) disease. STUDY DESIGN: Anonymized electronic survey. SAMPLE POPULATION: Veterinarians performing CrCL stabilization. METHODS: An electronic survey was created to collect information on general attitudes toward postoperative rehabilitation and recommendations regarding therapeutic modalities and bandaging. Quantitative data are reported by descriptive statistical analysis, percentage of responses, or mean (±SD). The recommendations for postoperative bandaging beyond 24 hours and for postoperative rehabilitation after extracapsular stabilization compared with after tibial osteotomy were tested by using Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel tests, with P < .05 considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The data analysis included 376 responses (13% response rate). Most (71%) respondents consistently recommended postoperative rehabilitation. Rehabilitation was more than twofold more likely to be recommended after extracapsular stabilization than after osteotomies (P = .0142). Most respondents did not recommend bandaging beyond 24 hours postoperatively (P = .00012). CONCLUSION: Most respondents recommended either formal or informal postoperative rehabilitation therapy. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: If the survey respondents are representative of veterinarians performing CrCL surgery, the current attitude is supportive of postsurgical rehabilitation. Most respondents would welcome evidence-based guidelines for rehabilitation protocols.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31390083/