34th Annual Scientific Meeting proceedings

Objectives:

To describe the postoperative complications and outcomes of surgical management of humeral intracondylar fissure with placement of a 4.5mm titanium transcondylar screw.

Methods:

Medical records (2013-2021) were reviewed for Spaniel breed dogs treated with a transcondylar 4.5mm titanium screw. Dogs presenting with a concurrent humeral fracture on the side of the HIF or on the contralateral humerus were excluded. Collected data included signalment, imaging data and complications. All dogs were seen for follow-up examination 6 weeks after surgery. Long-term outcomes were assessed with an owner questionnaire, orthopaedic examination, measurement of elbow goniometry and pressure platform analysis.

Results:

Thirty-nine dogs (55 elbows) were included in the study. There were no intraoperative complications. The only short-term minor complication recorded was seroma formation (16/55). Short-term major complications included surgical site infection (14/55) and revision surgery (6/55). Surgical site infection occurred in 6/16 of the elbows that developed a seroma. Two long-term major complications were reported including humeral condylar fracture (1) and screw replacement due to ongoing lameness (1). For the long-term follow-up, 19/39 owners responded by completing the Liverpool Osteoarthritis in Dogs (LOAD) questionnaire and 11 (16/55 elbows) returned to the hospital for re-examination at a mean time of 54 months (range:19-89) after surgery revealing a mild to moderate effect on mobility.

Conclusions:

Long-term clinical outcomes for management of HIF were good to excellent with the use of 4.5mm titanium transcondylar screws despite a complication rate of 40%. Titanium transcondylar screws demonstrated a comparable complication rate in the management of HIF to that previously reported with stainless steel implants.