🔍 Key Findings

• 14 joints from 7 cat cadavers underwent AA-HTS successfully.
• Median surgical time: 46.5 min (29–144), including 7 min for arthroscopy and 40 min for toggle placement.
• Intraoperative complications in 5/14 joints: 4 related to femoral tunnel creation, 1 toggle lodging.
• Toggle passage through femoral tunnel was the most challenging step, mildly difficult in 6 joints.
• Cartilage injury occurred in 10 joints, but all were minor (<10% of cartilage area).
• 13 deviations from planned technique were identified (8 major, 5 minor), all involving femoral tunnel placement.
• No neurovascular, intrapelvic, or major periarticular injuries occurred.
• Authors conclude: AA-HTS is feasible in cats, but associated with high rates of minor iatrogenic cartilage damage, intra-op complications, and technique deviations.

🔍 Key Findings

• Needle arthroscopy (NA) had 95% sensitivity and 100% specificity for diagnosing medial meniscal tears in dogs with CCLR.
• NA missed 1 medial and 1 lateral meniscal tear, both nondisplaced and stable.
• Visibility of all meniscal horns was significantly lower with NA compared to standard arthroscopy (SA) (P < .005 for all horns).
• Probing the caudal horn of the lateral meniscus was significantly more difficult with NA (P = .0017), though medial horn probing was similar.
• Mean NA procedure time was 8 ± 3 minutes, significantly shorter than SA (15 ± 9 min, P = .0041).
• No increase in lameness observed after NA, indicating minimal procedural morbidity.
• NA was performed under sedation in most dogs, though 10/26 required additional chemical restraint or short anesthesia.
• NA was most accurate for displaced vertical longitudinal tears, with all 14 correctly identified; one stable tear and a lateral tear were missed.

🔍 Key Findings

• CBLO reduced tibial plateau angle (TPA) from a mean of 28.1° to 9.7°, aligning with its goal of flattening the tibial slope.
• CBLO eliminated cranial tibial translation (CTT) following CCL transection and meniscal release at all angles except 140° without hamstring load.
• Hamstring loading (20% quadriceps load) significantly reduced or delayed the onset of CTT, improving stifle stability.
• Medial meniscus was confirmed as a secondary stabilizer; its release (MMR) caused more CTT than CCLx alone.
• PTA (patellar tendon angle) increased with joint extension; CBLO shifted the PTA curve lower and parallel to intact values, suggesting effective flexion of the joint.
• Combined CBLO and hamstring loading resulted in the most stable joints, especially from 50° to 135° joint angles.
• Residual CTT occurred in CBLO-only limbs at higher extension angles (e.g., 140°), but hamstring load mitigated this.
• Stifle stability post-CBLO is multifactorial, depending on joint angle, meniscal integrity, and hamstring activation.

🔍 Key Findings

• CBLO was effective for stifle stabilization in skeletally immature dogs with CrCL injuries, avoiding disruption of proximal tibial growth plates.
• Radiographic union of the osteotomy occurred in a mean of 6 weeks (range: 4–8 weeks), indicating rapid bone healing.
• Full limb function was restored in all cases by long-term follow-up (mean 23 months), including dogs with initial complications.
• Two dogs developed 19° valgus deformities due to screw interference with the proximal tibial physis; both were corrected surgically with return to function.
• One dog developed 10° recurvatum due to over-rotation of the tibial plateau, but retained full function without revision.
• CCS (countersink compression screw) caused early apophyseal closure in older dogs but had no adverse clinical effects.
• In contrast, K-wire or plate-only fixation preserved open apophysis, suggesting implant choice may influence growth.
• No meniscal injuries were observed, and all CrCL injuries were managed arthroscopically — 6 complete, 6 partial, 4 avulsions.

🔍 Key Findings

• Proximal Tibia Metatarsal Angle (PTMTA) was significantly increased in dogs with grade 3 and 4 MPL, making it a useful marker for severity.
• PTMTA strongly correlated with Tibial Torsion Angle (TTA) (r = 0.733) and Crural Rotation Angle (CRA) (r = 0.643), integrating multiple morphological deformities.
• Grade 4 MPL cases showed significant internal tibial torsion, increased mMPTA, and decreased MDTT/PTW—indicating both rotation and medial displacement.
• DTMTA was significantly more negative in grade 4, indicating a consistent pattern of internal foot rotation with disease severity.
• PTMTA can be visually assessed during palpation, offering preoperative utility without CT.
• Among toy poodles, PTMTA showed significant differences even between grades 3 and normal, suggesting breed-specific severity patterns.
• Corrective osteotomy may need to address tibial as well as femoral deformities in severe MPL cases with high PTMTA.
• Younger dogs with grade 4 MPL had more severe deformities, possibly due to early onset or developmental progression.

🔍 Key Findings

• Only 2 of 10 PET implants were fully intact and functional at 6 months post-op.
• Owner-reported function (LOAD scores) improved by 51.7% (p = .008) over 6 months.
• Gait asymmetry improved by 86% (p = .002) postoperatively.
• Implant failure occurred in the midbody of the PET device, suggesting fatigue as a failure mechanism.
• One dog (10%) developed implant infection, necessitating implant removal.
• Implant fixation method (screws + washers + interference screw) was mechanically adequate and technically simple.
• Partially intact implants (4/10) still showed improved clinical outcomes, despite structural compromise.
• Midbody tearing and lack of long-term integrity prohibit continued use of this PET implant in CCL repair.

🔍 Key Findings

• Oxley's modified CCWO did not achieve the target TPA of 5° in most cases, even with planning.
• Mean planned TPA was 7.6°, higher than target, and consistent across dog sizes.
• Postoperative TPAs were significantly higher in small dogs (median 7°) than in large dogs (median 4.5°).
• Distalization >7.5 mm of the osteotomy from the patellar tendon led to increased under-correction of TPA.
• Only dogs with preoperative TPA >35° achieved post-planning TPAs close to the 5° target.
• Postoperative osteotomy positions were generally more distal than recommended (8.6 mm median).
• Virtual plate fit was appropriate for all dogs at 5 mm or 7.5 mm positions, suggesting no need for excessive distalization.
• Excessive correction leading to negative TPAs occurred in some cases, risking caudal cruciate ligament strain.

🔍 Key Findings

Synovitis was present in 100% of canine stifles with CCL disease (n = 163).

The most frequent severity score was 3/5 (55.2%), followed by 4/5 (24.5%).

Higher synovitis scores were significantly associated with:

• Higher median cartilage scores (p = .042, OR = 2.1 per unit increase)
• Longer duration of clinical signs (p < .001, OR = 1.27 per month)

Bodyweight (p = .083) and sex (p = .17) were not statistically significant in multivariable analysis.

Bucket handle meniscal tears were not associated with synovitis severity.

Clinical implication: Earlier intervention may help reduce synovitis and slow OA progression.

🔍 Key Findings

• Liposomal bupivacaine (LB) infiltration did not reduce the need for rescue analgesia compared with placebo in dogs undergoing TPLO.
• CMPS-SF pain scores were not significantly different between LB and placebo groups at any postoperative time point.
• % body weight distribution (%BWdist) to the operated limb did not differ significantly between treatment groups across all time points.
• No correlation was found between CMPS-SF scores and %BWdist, suggesting these metrics assess different aspects of postoperative pain.
• Postoperative carprofen administration was standardized, and LB did not provide additional detectable analgesic benefit.
• Three-layer infiltration technique (joint capsule, fascia, subcutis) was used consistently across all cases.
• Adverse events were minor and comparable between LB and placebo groups.
• Post hoc analysis suggested a much larger sample size (58–436 dogs) would be needed to detect significant differences in %BWdist.

🔍 Key Findings

• Dogs with MPL had significantly shallower femoral trochlear grooves compared to controls, based on CT-measured femoral trochlear groove angle (FTGA).
• FTGA >134° in small breeds (SB) and >128° in medium/large breeds (MLB) were associated with MPL and can serve as surgical thresholds for considering trochleoplasty.
• FTA and FTRIA measurements were less reliable, showing lower sensitivity/specificity than FTGA.
• Inter-rater reliability for FTGA was excellent (ICC > 0.9), supporting its use in clinical decision-making.
• FTGA differed significantly between SB and MLB dogs, suggesting anatomical variation influences MPL predisposition.
• Dogs with MPL but with FTGA below threshold may not benefit from trochleoplasty, supporting individualized surgical planning.
• CT provides more precise and reproducible evaluation of trochlear morphology than radiography or ultrasound.
• The study introduces a CT protocol using P25 and P50 reference points for consistent FTGA measurement.