Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Llama with ruptured knee ligament treated by tibial plateau leveling
By Ray, Wendy M et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2004·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Tibial plateau leveling osteotomy in a llama with a ruptured cranial cruciate ligament.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 3-year-old male llama was brought in for sudden lameness in its left hind leg. The vet diagnosed a ruptured cranial cruciate ligament and performed a surgical procedure called tibial plateau leveling osteotomy, which is similar to what is done in dogs but required special plates due to the llama's size. Although there was a setback with the ligament repair shortly after surgery, the llama was reexamined about 3.5 years later and was reported to have full use of its leg, with only mild lameness remaining. This suggests that the surgery can be effective for similar injuries in llamas, but more research is needed.
People also search for: llama leg lameness treatment · cranial cruciate ligament injury in llamas · tibial plateau leveling osteotomy for llamas
Abstract
A 3-year-old 155-kg (342-lb) castrated male llama was examined because of left hind limb lameness of acute onset. A diagnosis of cranial cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament rupture was made, and tibial plateau leveling osteotomy was recommended. The tibial plateau leveling osteotomy procedure was performed as described for dogs, except that 2 orthopedic plates were used to stabilize the osteotomy because of the size of the llama. The medial collateral ligament was sutured and reinforced with 2 strands of size-2 polypropylene placed in a figure-8 fashion between cancellous bone screws in the femur and tibia. Four days after surgery, failure of the medial collateral ligament repair was evident. Approximately 3.5 years after surgery, the llama was reexamined. The owners reported that the llama had full use of its left hind limb, and only mild lameness (grade 1 of 5) was evident. Results suggest that tibial plateau leveling osteotomy may be applicable in camelids with rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament. However, additional study is needed before tibial plateau leveling osteotomy can be routinely recommended. In particular, additional information is needed on the tibial plateau slope in healthy camelids, the role of the fibula in tibial plateau leveling osteotomy procedures, and the prevalence of cranial cruciate ligament rupture in camelids.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15626226/