Evaluation of an intra-articular synthetic ligament for treatment of cranial cruciate ligament disease in dogs: a six-month prospective clinical trial

Objective: Evaluate the short-term outcomes of a novel synthetic ligament for treatment of naturally occurring canine cranial cruciate ligament disease. Study design: Prospective clinical study. Animals: Dogs with unilateral cranial cruciate ligament disease (n = 50). Methods: Patient parameters evaluated included a five-point lameness score, evaluation of craniocaudal stifle instability, and radiographic findings over 24 weeks. Any postoperative complications were recorded. Results: Thirty-four out of 42 dogs experienced significant improvements in lameness between the preoperative and 24 week time points. Lameness scores in those dogs improved significantly at all measured time intervals after postoperative week 2. Recurrence of stifle instability increased significantly over the study period from immediate postoperative measurements. Cranial drawer recurred in seven out of 42 of dogs by week 4 and 18/42 by week 24. Implant changes were not noted between the immediate and six-month postoperative radiographs except where complications occurred. Overall, 25 dogs experienced a total of 32 complications (22 major and 10 minor). Sixteen dogs had major complications, and nine had minor complications. Conclusion: The procedure was generally effective at improving lameness scores, but did not consistently maintain postoperative stifle stability and had an unacceptably high complication rate. This synthetic ligament procedure cannot be recommended for use in its current form.