Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Camel limping on left hind leg fixed by ligament surgery
By Pearce, S G & Hurtig, M B·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·1999·Department of Clinical Studies, Canada·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Surgical repair of a ruptured cranial cruciate ligament in a dromedary camel.
Plain-English summary
A 14-year-old dromedary camel was brought in for lameness in the left hind leg that had lasted for 3.5 months after slipping while lying down. X-rays didn’t show any major issues, but further tests revealed a ruptured cranial cruciate ligament in the knee. The vet performed surgery to repair the ligament using tissue from another part of the camel's body. Initially, the camel showed improvement and seemed more comfortable, but complications arose after surgery. Sadly, the camel was euthanized 16 months later due to ongoing lameness caused by chronic arthritis and further ligament issues.
People also search for: camel lameness treatment · cranial cruciate ligament surgery in camels · camel knee injury recovery
Abstract
A 14-year-old dromedary camel was examined because of lameness of the left hind limb of 3.5 months'duration. The camel injured the stifle joint when it slipped while reclining into sternal recumbency. Radiography did not reveal major abnormalities that could account for the lameness, but nuclear scintigraphy revealed increased radionuclide uptake in the left stifle joint. Intra-articular injection of anesthetic further localized the injury to the area of the left stifle joints, and arthroscopy of that joint revealed rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament. Surgical repair of the ligament was attempted, using an autogenous graft obtained from the tensor fascia lata muscle. Outcome for the camel initially was considered good on the basis of a substantial improvement in attitude, apparent increase in comfort, and decrease in lameness. The tendency for the camel to remain in sternal recumbency after surgery increased the number and severity of postoperative complications. The camel was doing well 9 months after surgery; however, it was euthanatized 16 months after surgery because of a 4-month episode of lameness. Necropsy revealed chronic osteoarthritis and bilateral rupture of the cranial cruciate ligaments.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10553447/