Treatment of cranial cruciate ligament rupture in the feline stifle. Biomechanical comparison of a standard fabella-tibial suture and lateral sutures placed between quasi-isometric points.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether a lateral suture placed with bone anchors between quasi-isometric points in a cat is superior to a standard fabella-tibial suture for the stabilization of cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL) rupture compared to an intact stifle joint.

STUDY

DESIGN

Biomechanical cadaveric study.

METHODS

Six stifle joints with intact cruciate ligaments from three skeletally mature cats were placed in a loading mounting set and tested with axial loads of 20N and 60N at three different joint angles (75°,130° and 160°). The procedure was repeated with a transected CrCL; a stabilized stifle joint after a combination of three lateral suture techniques (fabella-tibial suture technique [SFT]; femoro-tibial suture technique 1 [FTS-1] and femoro-tibial suture technique 2 [FTS-2]). Radiographic examination of the relative position of the tibia to the fixed femur was compared.

RESULTS

Stabilization of the stifle joint with lateral sutures had comparable stability to the intact specimens in the cranio-caudal direction (p = 0.2) but not in the proximo-distal direction for the SFT (p = 0.04) and FTS-2 technique (p = 0.03). There was no significant difference between the three stabilization techniques (p >0.05).

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Lateral sutures placed with bone anchors at quasi-isometric points performed better than SFT and FTS-2 in stabilizing the feline stifle after CrCL rupture in the proximo-distal plane. Biomechanical stability in the cranio-caudal plane after placement of a lateral suture across the feline stifle was similar to the intact CrCL.