EVALUATION OF THE RADIOGRAPHIC BONE HEALING AFTER TIBIAL PLATEAU LEVELLING OSTEOTOMY WITH OR WITHOUT ELEVATION OF POPL ITEAL MUSCLE FROM THE CAUDO MEDIAL ASPECT OF THE TIBIA. A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Objective. To evaluate the radiographic bone healing after performing the tibial plateau levelling osteotomy (TPLO) with or without elevation of popliteal muscle from the caudo medial aspect of the tibia. Study design: A blinded, prospective, randomized clinical study. Methods. From 2020 to 2022, healthy dogs aged 1 to 5 years, affected by unilateral rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament (RCCL), were randomly underwent to TPLO with (C group) or without (M group) elevation of popliteal muscle and protection with gauze [1]. All dogs had the osteotomy stabilized with 3.5 Synthes plate and the post operative care was identical among dogs of the two groups. A blinded radiologist evaluated orthogonal radiographs performed 45 days postoperatively with both a modified radiographic union scale for tibial fractures (mRUST) [2] and a 10 point bone healing scale (10 PBH) [3]. The surgical time, the postoperative tibial plateau angle (TPA) and the 45 days after surgery TPA were measured and the rockback (RB) [4] was calculated. All data were normally distributed for the Kolmogorov Smirnov test and the two groups were compared using the One Way ANOVA test. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results. Thirty dogs (30 stifles) were included in the study, 15 stifles in C group and 15 stifles in M group. The median healing scores evaluated with both mRUST (p = 0.010) and 10 PBH scale (p = 0.029) were significantly higher at 45 days postoperatively for the M group compared to the C group. Age, body weight, body condition score, RB and surgical times were not statistically different between the two study groups (p < 0.05). In all patients the cranial tibial artery was not injured. Conclusion. Dogs underwent TPLO without soft tissue dissection healed rapidly. A minimally invasive access protects the biological environment that facilitates rapid bone healing by minimizing soft tissue damage.