Is Canine Degenerative Cruciate Rupture a Consequence of Rheumatic Disease?
Peter Muir, BVSc, PhD; University of Wisconsin – Madison Rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) in the stifle is one of the most important orthopaedic conditions of dogs and leads to a large economic burden. The cause of CCL rupture is not known. This ligament is equivalent to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the knee of humans. Most CCL ruptures in dogs are degenerative, and are not associated with accidental injury. Current surgical treatments, such as tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO), do not restore weight-bearing to normal and stifle arthritis typically gets progressively worse after surgery. A likely explanation for these findings is that current surgical procedures only treat dynamic stifle instability during weight-bearing, but do not treat passive instability during periods when the affected limb is not bearing weight, or other relevant pathological change. This presentation will review what is known about the cruciate rupture disease mechanism. Clinical
