Veterinary Orthopedic Society - 39th Annual Conference Abstracts

41 Mechanical properties of the canine patella-ligamenttibia segment Biskup JJ1; Freeman A2; Camisa W2; Conzemius MG1 (1)Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, (2)Excelen: Center for Bone & Joint Research and Education, Minneapolis, MN Introduction: None of the surgical procedures currently performed for canine cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture reproduce the anatomy or mechanical duties of the normal CCL and therefore can lead to secondary arthritis. Comparatively, common surgical repairs for people involve arthroscopic placement of intra-articular autoor allografts at the origin and insertion of the original ligament. The objective of this study was to test the ex vivo mechanical properties of canine patella-ligament-tibia (PLT) segment and establish the relationship between donor size and PLT dimensions to the mechanical properties of PLT grafts, to determine their suitability as grafts. Materials and Methods: Forty-two canine PLT had morphometric measurements (width, thickness, length) taken from computed tomography (CT). These measurements were compared to results obtained using calipers. The PLT were tested to failure at a rate of 100% length/second. Results: Measurements taken via calipers significantly underestimated the width and thickness of the PLT (p=2.47E-8, 2.69E-4, respectively) when compared to measurements taken from CT. Eighty-three percent of specimens failed by the tendon pulling off its patella attachment. The weight of the donor animal and the length of the PLT had the strongest Pearson’s r value when correlated with load at failure (r= 0.84, 0.82, respectively). Failure loads from dogs weighing greater than 25-kg were generally greater than 1750N. Discussion/Conclusion: The loads at failure were similar to those previously reported for the CCL suggesting the whole PLT may be a suitable graft for CCL replacement. Acknowledgments: Supported by the VMC Small Companion Animal grant, University of Minnesota