Objective: To evaluate the relative position of the femur and tibia in cranial cruciate ligament-intact stifles, cranial cruciate ligament-deficient stifles, and cruciate-deficient stifles following lateral extracapsular suture system (LESS) stabilization under load at specific joint angles.
Study design: In vitro biomechanical study.
Methods: Twenty pelvic limbs from 11 dogs were used to evaluate the relative position of the femur and tibia between three stifle conditions (cranial cruciate ligament-intact, cranial cruciate ligament-deficient, and LESS-stabilized) at a load of 30% of body weight and stifle angles of 125°, 135°, and 145° using electromagnetic tracking sensors.
Results: Cranial cruciate ligament-deficient stifles had significantly greater (p <0.0001) cranial displacement and internal rotation of the tibia relative to the femur than cranial cruciate ligament-intact or LESS stifles at all stifle angles. Cranial displacement of the tibia relative to the femur for cranial cruciate ligament-intact and LESS stifles were not significantly different from one another at a stifle angle of 125°, but were significantly different at stifle angles of 135° (p = 0.0182) and 145° (p = 0.0012). There was no significant difference in internal rotation of the tibia relative to the femur between the cranial cruciate ligament-intact and LESS stifles at any of the stifle angles.
Clinical significance: The LESS procedure effectively decreased cranial tibial displacement and eliminated internal rotation of the tibia relative to the femur in the cranial cruciate ligament-deficient stifles at stifle angles of 125°, 135°, and 145° in vitro.