Retrospective study of surgical treatment of various patellar luxations in dogs from 2004 to 2007

Today, the treatment of patellar luxations using current techniques has become a very common procedure as part of the surgical treatment. Nevertheless, there are some doubts about such procedures in restraining the patella in lower grade cases. The purpose of the present retrospective clinical study was to determine the efficacy of the soft tissue and bone reconstructive procedures used for various grades of patellar luxation. Forty small and toy breed dogs between the ages of 6 months to 7 years have been used in this study. Following the medical examination, it was seen that all dogs suffered from knee pain and unilaterally or bilaterally intermittent to constant non-weight bearing lameness. All dogs with the exception of two, recovered back to the normal movement within three months. Re-luxation was observed in two dogs that were treated for patellar reconstruction using soft tissue techniques in grade I. These findings suggest that improvement can be achieved in patellar luxation, following appropriate soft tissue and bone reconstructive procedures. However, re-luxation limits the validity of the use of soft tissue reconstructive procedures in operated dogs with grade I luxation. Therefore, the authors have suggested considering a surgical treatment that utilizes combinatorial techniques, in which soft tissue and bone reconstructive techniques are integrated to achieve definite improvement in grade I, surgery before the maturity in grade IV, and no delay on undergoing an operation in grade I, II, and III.