Short- and Long-Term Outcomes in Small to Medium Breed Dogs Treated Arthroscopically for MCPD: A Retrospective Study of 19 Cases

Introduction: The objective of this study was to assess short- and long-term outcomes following elbow arthroscopic treatment in small and medium breed dogs that had medial coronoid process disease (MCPD). We hypothesized that dogs treated arthroscopically with removal of a fissured or fragmented medial coronoid processes (FMCP) would have a better short- and long-term outcome than dogs treated for chondro- and osteomalacia of the MCP (COMCP).

Materials and Methods: Medical records of dogs ≤20 kg that were treated arthroscopically for MCPD were retrospectively reviewed. Arthroscopic findings, short-term and long-term outcome based on The LOAD client questionnaire were evaluated using descriptive statistics.

Results: Elbow arthroscopy was performed in 19 dogs with MCPD. COMCP was diagnosed in five (26%) dogs and FMCP was identified in 14 (74%) dogs. Dogs with COMCP and FMCP had an average improvement between pre-operative and short-term lameness grades of 0.3 and 1, respectively. Questionnaires were completed for 11 dogs (5 COMCP, 6 FMCP) to assess long-term postoperative outcome and elbow osteoarthritis progression. The mean Load score in the Malacia group and fragment group was 15.8, and 12.8, respectively.

Discussion/Conclusion: Short-term outcome of dogs with FMCPs showed a greater degree of improvement in grades of lameness in comparison to dogs with COMCP. Based on the LOAD Results, dogs with FMCP averaged a lower degree of elbow OA (12.8) in comparison to dogs with COMCP (15.8). The study's hypothesis was accepted.

Acknowledgements: There was no proprietary interest or funding provided for this project.

Publication History

Article published online:
26 October 2022