Arthroscopic Findings Following Experimental Cranial Cruciate Ligament Desmotomy in Dog

Objective- Using the arthroscopic surgery technique for experimental transection of cranial cruciateligament and arthroscopic findings of stifle joint following ligament transection .Design- Experimental study.Animals- Five healthy mixed breed dogs. Procedures- Five dogs (mean weight 27±3 kg, mean age 3 years) selected to study the stifle joint changesafter experimental cranial cruciate ligament desmotomy. The cranial cruciate ligament of the one stiflejoint was transected via arthro scopy in all dogs under general anesthesia. One month after cranial cruciateligament desmotomy the arthroscopic examination of the joints was performed again. Lateral andantrioposterior radiography were also carried out before transected of the ligament and one month afterligament surgery just before second arthroscopy.Results- All dogs had various degree of lamenes s during the study and showed inflammatory changes inthe joint. In all animals arthroscopic observation showed various degrees of the articular cartilage damageand meniscal injuries.Conclusion and Clinical Relevance- According to the results of present study, the cranial cruciateligament is vital to normal function and rupture of this ligament result s in progressive and permanentdegenerative changes within the joint.