Patellar groove prosthesis

Planning the operation of a cruciate ligament rupture and patella alta

Dr Seregi at FuzioVet sent this case to us. Woody is a Yorkshire terrier who had two problems in his right stifle joint: a rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament and a medial (inward) patellar luxation. The latter was greatly due to the fact that the patella could easily slip out of its groove. So, after consulting with Dr Seregi, we agreed that these two deformations would be treated during one operation. The rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament was remedied with the method TPLO (tibial plateau leveling osteotomy) which promotes the biomechanical stability of the knee - here the doctor used standard surgical implants. However, repairing the patellar groove necessitated a customised implant. Hence, as a first step, we reconstructed the bones based on the CT inspection. Then, we designed an implant which perfectly fits the bone surfaces (considering all of the relevant osseous morphology) and which prevents possible luxations in the future. The operation was successful and Woody started to use his operated leg soon.