Short-term outcomes of 43 dogs treated with arthroscopic suturing for meniscal tears associated with cranial cruciate ligament disease.

OBJECTIVE: To describe short-term outcomes and complications in dogs receiving meniscal suturing and concurrent tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) with or without augmentation with an extracapsular suture. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case series. ANIMALS: Forty-three client-owned dogs submitted for cruciate ligament disease. METHODS: Dogs were included if meniscal suturing was performed during or after a TPLO procedure. Criteria included an unstable medial meniscus without evidence of a tear, a caudal vertical longitudinal tear with or without displacement, or if a bucket-handle tear was debrided and the remaining rim was unstable. Stifle stabilization was performed by either a standard TPLO or an augmented TPLO (TPLO + internal brace [IB]). Outcome measures included physical examination findings, radiographs, subjective gait examination, Liverpool Osteoarthritis in Dogs (LOAD) scores, and second-look arthroscopy. RESULTS: Forty-four meniscal repairs were performed in 43 dogs. Five types of meniscal tears were treated employing eight suture materials. Complications were documented in 15 cases (34%). The stabilization technique had a significant impact on the outcome (p = .049): TPLO + IB had a 93.3% success rate and the success rate was 71.4% in the TPLO-only group. CONCLUSION: Five types of meniscal pathology were addressed successfully in the study, indicating that currently accepted criteria for meniscal suturing in dogs may be overly conservative. The majority of complications were not related to the meniscal suturing itself and did not compromise the outcome. The stifle stabilization technique had an impact on outcome. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The authors found arthroscopic meniscal suturing to be practical and successful in this patient population. Postoperative stifle stability had an impact on successful treatment.

Ex vivo evaluation of arthroscopically assisted shoulder stabilization in dogs using an intra-articular aiming device.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the use of an intra-articular aiming device (IAD) for medial shoulder stabilization with a suture-toggle repair or an interference screw repair using bone anchors in dogs. STUDY DESIGN: Ex-vivo Study METHODS: Specimens were randomly divided into 2 groups (anchor and suture-toggle) with 10 shoulders each. Abduction angles were measured by goniometry prior to and following medial glenerohumeral ligament transection and after receiving arthroscopically assisted stabilization with either bone anchors or suture-toggle constructs. Bone stock and insertion angles were measured with computed tomography scans. All specimens were inspected by dissection. RESULTS: Abduction angles increased post-transection in both groups, and were restored to normal in the anchor group, but 2° smaller than normal in the suture-toggle group following stabilization. Median magnitude of bone stock surrounding all tunnels ranged between 5.9 and 12.9 mm in the anchor group and 8.8 and 15.6 mm in the suture-toggle group (p = .002). Median insertion angles at the cranial glenoid, caudal glenoid, and humerus were 17.3°, 36.8 ° and 43.4° in the anchor group, respectively, and median insertion angles at the glenoid and humerus were 38.2° and 35.6° in the suture-toggle group, respectively (p = .91). Placement of anchors were not feasible in 3 specimens in the anchor group, and mild violations of the articular surfaces were detected in 3 specimens overall. CONCLUSION: Arthroscopically assisted shoulder stabilization with an IAD was feasible in canine cadavers. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: An IAD may facilitate arthroscopic shoulder stabilization in dogs. Further studies are warranted to evaluate safety and efficacy in a clinical setting.