Evaluation of lameness associated with arthroscopy and arthrotomy of the normal canine cubital joint.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate gait, range of motion (ROM), and lameness in normal dogs after arthroscopy or arthrotomy of the cubital joint. STUDY DESIGN Experimental study. ANIMALS Fourteen mature, healthy dogs. METHODS Dogs were randomly assigned to treatment groups. Seven underwent arthrotomy and 7 underwent arthroscopy of the left cubital joint. Dogs were evaluated using kinetic gait assessment, subjective evaluation scores, and cubital joint ROM. Evaluations were performed before and on days 2, 4, 7, 15, 22, and 29 after surgery. Radiographs made before and after the surgical procedures were evaluated. RESULTS Significant differences in peak vertical force and vertical impulse force were not observed between surgery groups (P =.88 and.49, respectively). Joint ROM was not significantly different between groups (P =.09 for flexion and.91 for extension). For all dogs, joint ROM and radiographic evaluations remained normal throughout the study period. Significant differences in subjective lameness scores, weight bearing, or pain were not observed between groups (P >/ or =.19 for all variables). CONCLUSIONS In this study population, significant differences between dogs undergoing arthroscopy or arthrotomy of the cubital joint with respect to postoperative pain, weight bearing, joint ROM, or temporal improvement of ground reaction forces were not observed. CLINICAL RELEVANCE The results of this study suggest that postoperative morbidity should not be a factor when making a decision to perform either arthroscopy or arthrotomy for exploration of the medial compartment of the canine cubital joint.