Handling of the tibial muscle envelope in tibial plateau levelling osteotomy - to elevate or not?

Abstract

SummaryObjective: To compare the outcome of the tibial plateau levelling osteotomy (TPLO) procedure, using a 6-hole 3.5 mm locking TPLO plate and performed with the muscle elevation technique (ET) and placement of sponges, to the TPLO without performing these steps (non-elevation-technique [NET]).Material and methods: Medical records and radiographs of dogs with ET (n = 21) or NET (n = 19) were retrospectively reviewed. Signalment, TPLO procedure side, meniscal treatment, surgery time, haemorrhage, preand postoperative tibial plateau angle, assistant, amount of rehabilitation, bone healing (cortical, osteotomy, combined healing scores), complications, limb function, recovery time and follow-up were recorded and analysed using multivariate analysis. A value of p <0.05 was considered significant.Results: Surgery time was significantly shorter with the NET (68.5 min ± 3.4) than with the ET (87.8 min ± 3.4) (p <0.01). No significant differences were detected for all other evaluated factors. Soft tissue trauma was minimal and none of the dogs suffered severe haemorrhage. The bone healing scores with the NET and the ET were not significantly different (p = 0.1, p = 0.2, p = 0.1). Complications were rare, minor and not significantly different between groups (p = 0.73).Clinical relevance: The results of this in vivo study indicate that NET is a feasible technique that can be considered for the clinical setting.