Arthroscopic tenotomy for treatment of biceps tendon luxation in two apprehension police dogs.

CASE DESCRIPTION: A 7.5-year-old 37.8-kg (83.2-lb) sexually intact male German Shepherd Dog (dog 1) and a 2.6-year-old 28.2-kg (62.0-lb) sexually intact male Dutch Shepherd (dog 2), both apprehension police dogs, were admitted for evaluation of left and right thoracic limb lameness, respectively. CLINICAL FINDINGS: In both dogs, signs of pain were elicited on palpation of the shoulder joint in the affected limb, and a distinct popping of the biceps brachii tendon (BT) was palpable on the craniomedial aspect of the affected joint on flexion and extension and was associated with moderate signs of pain. Biceps brachii tendon luxation (BTL) was diagnosed with dynamic musculoskeletal ultrasonography (both dogs) and MRI (dog 1). TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: Arthroscopic BT release by tenotomy was performed in both dogs. Lameness appeared to have resolved by 8 weeks after surgery and had not recurred by the last follow-up communications at 36 and 9 months after surgery for dogs 1 and 2, respectively. Both dogs successfully returned to their level of work performed before their injury. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Our findings for the dogs of the present report suggested that arthroscopic BT release could be considered a viable treatment option for BTL in dogs, including police dogs or other high-performance athletic dogs. Although our findings provided encouraging results, further research, best conducted with a multicenter prospective randomized study, would be needed to establish the most reliable treatment of BTL in high-performance athletic or working dogs.

Tibial tuberosity advancement for treatment of CrCL injury: complications and owner satisfaction.

The purpose of this retrospective study of 171 dogs that underwent 193 tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA) surgeries was to describe complications and owner satisfaction associated with the procedure. Complications occurred in 21 cases (11%). Subsequent meniscal tear was the most common complication (10/193, 5.2%). Increasing body weight (P=0.02-0.04) and small cage size (P=0.06) were significantly associated with postsurgical complications. Ninety-two percent of owners were satisfied with the outcome of the TTA procedure, but only 84% stated that they would be willing to have the procedure performed again. The authors concluded that TTA had a complication rate and owner satisfaction similar to other tibial osteotomies for the surgical correction of cranial cruciate ligament disease.