Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Traumatic knee injuries in 72 cats - complications and outcomes
By Coppola, Mario et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2022·Small Animal Hospital, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Traumatic stifle injury in 72 cats: a multicentre retrospective study.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old domestic shorthair cat was brought in for a traumatic stifle (knee) injury after a fall. The cat had multiple ligament injuries, including damage to the medial meniscus, which is a cartilage in the knee. Surgery was performed, and a temporary pin was used to stabilize the joint, but this method was linked to a higher risk of complications. After follow-up, most cats had good to excellent outcomes, although some experienced short-term issues. The study suggests that immobilization after surgery may not be necessary for recovery.
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to describe traumatic stifle injury in cats and report complications and long-term outcome. METHODS: The medical records from seven veterinary hospitals of cats treated for traumatic stifle injury were reviewed. Long-term follow-up data were collected from referring veterinarians and using the Feline Musculoskeletal Pain Index, collected from owners. RESULTS: Seventy-two cats were included in the study. The most common combination of ligament injury involved both cruciate ligaments and the lateral collateral ligament (25.4%). Medial meniscal injury was more common (66.2%) than lateral meniscal injury (59.4%). A temporary transarticular pin was used intraoperatively to aid reduction in 23/73 (31.5%) surgeries. Postoperative immobilisation was applied in 41/72 (56.9%) cats with a mean duration of 4.8 weeks. Short-term complications occurred in 40/64 (62.5%) cats. Long-term complications occurred in seven (17.5%) cats. Overall outcome was excellent in 25/61 (41%) cats, good in 13/61 (21.3%) cats, fair in 11/61 (18%) cats and poor in 12/61 (19.7%) cats. Mean length of follow-up was 29.6 months (range 0.5-204). A significantly poorer outcome was observed in cats with medial meniscal injury and those undergoing revision surgery. Use of a transarticular pin when left in situ for postoperative immobilisation was associated with a poorer outcome (P = 0.043) and a higher risk of complications (P = 0.018). Postoperative immobilisation was not related to outcome. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Traumatic stifle injury in cats can lead to rupture of multiple ligaments causing significant instability of the joint. Surgical treatment is associated with a high rate of short-term complications, although long-term outcome may still be good to excellent in the majority of cats (62.3%). In cats where follow-up was available, postoperative immobilisation had no positive effect on outcome and may not be required. Leaving a transarticular pin for postoperative immobilisation is not recommended as it was significantly associated with a poorer outcome and a higher complication rate.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34254845/