TDK conference 2024

Cranial cruciate ligament rupture (CrCLR) is one of the most prevalent orthopaedic conditions and the primary cause of hindlimb lameness in dogs. This study was designed to offer a comprehensive analysis of the entire rehabilitation process of CrCLR, focusing on three primary areas: predisposing factors, treatment approaches (surgical intervention versus conservative treatment), and post-operative physiotherapy treatment. For the methodology of this study an online questionnaire was developed and distributed to dog owners whose pets had experienced CrCLR. Of the respondents, 56 participants successfully completed the questionnaire in its entirety. What arises from the results is that degeneration was identified as the leading cause of rupture, accounting 60.7% of cases, while traumatic incidents contributed to 26.8%. Regarding predisposing factors, such as breed, gender, neuter status, age and overweight status, breeds were categorized according to size, with 62.2% being large breeds and 37.8% small breeds. The gender distribution was 39.3% males and 60.7% females, of which 59.1% were neutered and 61.8% spayed, respectively. The proportion of overweight participants was as follows: 28.6% of dogs classified as overweight, 50.0% were at a physiological weight and 21.4% of the owners were unable to recall the weight status of their dog at the time of the incident. The age distribution was: 5.4% adolescent (under 2 years), 28.6% adult (2-5 years), 39.3% senior (6-9 years) and 26.7% geriatric (10 years and older). With respect to the treatment approach, 89.3% of respondents selected surgery as treatment, while only 10.7% chose conservative treatment. The efficacy of each treatment is as follows: conservative treatment: 33.3% success and 66.7% failure, surgical treatment: 90.0% success and 10.0% failure. In relation to the proportion and individual success rate of surgical techniques the distribution is as stated below: TPLO was the most chosen procedure (70.0%), followed by extracapsular suture (20.0%) and intracapsular suture (2.0%). TPLO had a 97.1% success rate, extracapsular suture 70.0%, and intracapsular suture 0.0%. Lastly, physiotherapy was part of the rehabilitation for 84.6% of participants. Of these, 56.8% reported full recovery (1st degree of lameness), 34.1% indicated mild discomfort (2nd degree of lameness), and 9.1% reported moderate lameness (3rd degree of lameness). In conclusion, this study found an overall success rate of 55.4% reporting full recovery, 32.1% reporting mild discomfort and 12.5% moderate lameness following CrCLR rehabilitation. Valuable insights into the rehabilitation process are emerging form this study, with the potential to help veterinarians and owners make informed decisions. However, further research with a larger sample size is needed to improve accuracy, and veterinarian evaluations are essential to reduce owner bias and misinterpretation.