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Evaluation of the risk of patella fracture as the result of decreasing tibial plateau angle following tibial plateau leveling osteotomy
Author(s) -
Geier Cindy M.,
Frederick Steven W.,
Cross Alan R.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
veterinary surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.652
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1532-950X
pISSN - 0161-3499
DOI - 10.1111/vsu.13640
Subject(s) - medicine , patella , surgery , radiography , patella fracture , osteotomy , fracture (geology) , orthodontics , geotechnical engineering , engineering
Objective To evaluate the effect of postoperative tibial plateau angle (TPA) following tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) on the risk of patella fracture during the convalescent period. Study Design Retrospective study. Sample Population Fracture group: 20 stifles; reference group: 65 stifles. Methods Medical records were reviewed for stifles with patellar fractures after a TPLO procedure (fracture group) and stifles with >180 days radiographic examination with no complications following TPLO (reference group). Stifle radiographs were masked to group and final TPA (fTPA) was measured, at the time of fracture diagnosis (fracture group) and at last follow‐up (reference group), using PACS software. TPAs in the fracture and reference groups were compared using the Wilcoxon rank‐sum test. Statistical significance was set at .05. Results Patellar fractures were diagnosed at a median of 69 days (range 31–189) after surgery. The median duration of follow‐up time for the reference group was 471 days (range 180–1868). Median fTPA for the fracture group was 1.4° (range [−10.3]–7.1). Median fTPA for the reference group was 4.1° (range [−3.9]–14.1). The odds of patellar fractures increased by 21.7% (95% CI: 8.6%–35.6%) for every 1° decrease in fTPA. Conclusion The risk of patella fractures increased as TPAs after TPLOs decreased. Clinical Significance Care should be taken to avoid excessive rotation during TPLO to decrease the likelihood of postoperative patellar fractures.