Abstract
BackgroundCranial cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture is a very common cause of pelvic limb lameness in dogs. Few studies, using objective and validated outcome evaluation methods, have been published to evaluate long-term (>1 year) outcome after CCL repair. A group of 47 dogs with CCL rupture treated with intracapsular, extracapsular, and osteotomy techniques, and 21 healthy control dogs were enrolled in this study. To evaluate long-term surgical outcome, at a minimum of 1.5 years after unilateral CCL surgery, force plate, orthopedic, radiographic, and physiotherapeutic examinations, including evaluation of active range of motion (AROM), symmetry of thrust from the ground, symmetry of muscle mass, and static weight bearing (SWB) of pelvic limbs, and goniometry of the stifle and tarsal joints, were done.ResultsAt a mean of 2.8 ± 0.9 years after surgery, no significant differences were found in average ground reaction forces or SWB between the surgically treated and control dog limbs, when dogs with no other orthopedic findings were included (n = 21). However, in surgically treated limbs, approximately 30% of the dogs had decreased static or dynamic weight bearing when symmetry of weight bearing was evaluated, 40-50% of dogs showed limitations of AROM in sitting position, and two-thirds of dogs had weakness in thrust from the ground. The stifle joint extension angles were lower (P <0.001) and flexion angles higher (P <0.001) in surgically treated than in contralateral joints, when dogs with no contralateral stifle problems were included (n = 33). In dogs treated using the intracapsular technique, the distribution percentage per limb of peak vertical force (DPVF) in surgically treated limbs was significantly lower than in dogs treated with osteotomy techniques (P =0.044).ConclusionsThe average long-term dynamic and static weight bearing of the surgically treated limbs returned to the level of healthy limbs. However, extension and flexion angles of the surgically treated stifles remained inferior to healthy joints, and impairment of AROM and weakness in thrust from the ground in the surgically treated limbs were frequently present. Ground reaction forces may be inadequate as a sole method for assessing functional outcome after cranial cruciate ligament repair.
Highlights
Cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture is a very common cause of pelvic limb lameness in dogs
Of the pelvic limbs (31 left, 16 right), 19 limbs (40.4%) had been surgically treated using a modification of the original intracapsular technique [32], with an autograft that was passed over the top of the lateral femoral condyle, 7 limbs (14.9%) using variations of the original modification of the extracapsular technique [33], with a nylon leader line or polyester sutures, and 21 limbs (44.7%) using the tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) (9) [34], the tuberosity advancement (TTA) (7) [35], or triple tibial osteotomy (TTO, 5) [18] techniques
We evaluated overall long-term surgical outcome at a mean of 2.8 years after CCL repair using a combination of force plate analysis, orthopedic and radiographic examinations and as a new aspect, a physiotherapeutic evaluation performed by a veterinary physiotherapist
Summary
Cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture is a very common cause of pelvic limb lameness in dogs. To evaluate long-term surgical outcome, at a minimum of 1.5 years after unilateral CCL surgery, force plate, orthopedic, radiographic, and physiotherapeutic examinations, including evaluation of active range of motion (AROM), symmetry of thrust from the ground, symmetry of muscle mass, and static weight bearing (SWB) of pelvic limbs, and goniometry of the stifle and tarsal joints, were done. Some studies have reported return of dynamic weight bearing to the level of healthy limbs after extracapsular repair [5] and tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) [6,10], whereas in others the ground reaction forces in surgically treated limbs or pelvic limb symmetry indices have remained inferior to full function after repair with extracapsular [6,7,10], intracapsular [7], TPLO [7], and tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA) [11] techniques. Two recent studies indicate that TPLO leads to limb function that is superior to that produced by extracapsular surgery [8,10]
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