34th Annual Scientific Meeting proceedings

Objectives:

In this prospective study, an optical surgical navigation system, combined with cone beam CT, was tested during THR surgery on dogs. THR requires precise prosthetic implant placement, and the standard approach involves the use of fluoroscopy at various stages of surgery. The hypothesis is that the navigation system allows precise implant placement without fluoroscopy, avoiding radiation exposure to surgical staff.

Methods:

Four THR surgeries have been executed on dogs with severe hip dysplasia, with the support of the DelphiVet Surgical Navigator combined with cone beam CT. The surgical steps included the fixation of the reference markers on the dogs, a pre-operative CT scan, the preparation of the bone bed, the insertion of the prosthetic implants by CT-guided navigation and post-operative CT assessment of implant placement.

Results:

The surgeon was able to successfully prepare the bone bed and insert the implants through the guidance of the navigation system, without any special difficulties. Surgical times did not differ significantly from the fluoroscopic approach. Implant positioning (Cup ALO and Version, Stem Centering and Version) was in line with the technical specifications of the system and comparable to placement achieved with intraoperative fluoroscopy.

Conclusions:

The preliminary results demonstrate that the navigation system is applicable to THR surgery in dogs, can be used with confidence, allows for adequate positioning of the prosthetic implants, does not significantly lengthen surgical times compared to the traditional approach and ultimately allows for the complete execution of the THR without exposing the operating room staff to radiation.