Patellar Maltracking as a Cause of Lameness in Two Dachshunds

David Treharne,Neil Burton

doi:10.1055/s-0038-1672116

Abstract

AbstractTwo Dachshunds were presented for the complaint of intermittent unilateral pelvic limb skipping lameness. Clinical examination and radiographs did not reveal any abnormalities. Computed tomography (CT) imaging showed changes in the femoropatellar joint space in both dogs and surgical evaluation revealed femoral trochlear and patellar cartilage loss. Patellar maltracking without patellar luxation or instability was diagnosed. Patellar maltracking should be included as a differential diagnosis for pelvic limb lameness in this breed.

Highlights

In human beings, anterior knee pain is a common complaint, reported to affect up to one in four members of the general population.[1]
In the case of patellar maltracking, which is usually lateral in humans, mal-articulation of the femoropatellar joint may result in focal overload of the patellar cartilage, anterior knee pain and may progress to chondromalacia patellae
Telephone followup for case 2 (4 months postoperatively) revealed improved function compared with preoperatively but skipping lameness was still occasionally evident in this limb. This case report has described the clinical, diagnostic imaging and surgical findings of two Dachshunds diagnosed with patellar maltracking as a cause of intermittent pelvic limb lameness

Summary

Introduction

Anterior knee pain is a common complaint, reported to affect up to one in four members of the general population.[1] The most common cause of anterior knee pain is functional patellofemoral pain syndrome,[2] which has an overall prevalence of 6.4% in the population.[3] The aetiopathogenesis of functional patellofemoral pain syndrome is multifactorial and includes patellar maltracking, dynamic valgus (that being where the knee collapses medially during stance due to valgus and/or rotation) and peri-patellar muscle imbalance.[4] In the case of patellar maltracking, which is usually lateral in humans, mal-articulation of the femoropatellar joint may result in focal overload of the patellar cartilage, anterior knee pain and may progress to chondromalacia patellae. Patellar luxation in dogs is a relatively common orthopaedic disorder,[5] to the authors’ knowledge, patellar maltracking without patellar instability or luxation as a cause of lameness has so far not been described. The case report outlines the clinical, diagnostic and surgical findings of two Dachshunds that were presented for the complaint of intermittent skipping lameness due to patellar maltracking

Case One

Case Two

Discussion