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Background: As isolated ruptures of the caudal cruciate ligament (CdCL) are rare in dogs, there is no consensus on the indications and the gold-standard surgical technique for treatment. Case Description: A 2-year-old Shepherd dog with an isolated rupture of the CdCL was treated with a new surgical technique for synthetic reconstruction. Three bone tunnels were drilled in the femur and the tibia under arthroscopic guidance to make sure the anatomical insertions of the physiological ligament were respected. An Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) implant was fixed with interference screws to reconstruct the CdCL. A synovial inflammation remained present on radiographs for six months after the surgery, together with a mild lameness. However, the dog fully recovered clinically and recovered a normal level of activity after six months. LOAD results at six months and one year postoperatively were excellent. Conclusion: The use of an UHMWPE implant fixed with interference screws to reconstruct the CdCL allowed a return to full function of the knee without complications, despite a persistent synovial inflammation and mild lameness for a 6-month period after the surgery. The success of this isolated surgical technique could lead to improvements in the surgical management of CdCL rupture, if these initial results are confirmed by a prospective study with a larger number of patients. [Open Vet J 2023; 13(7.000): 948-954]

Background: Rupture of the common calcaneal tendon is the second most frequent tendon rupture in dogs and may lead to severe lameness and pain. Surgical repair consists of re-apposition of the damaged tendon ends using sutures, but this type of repair is not always possible especially if the tendon has retracted. Tendon augmentation with an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) implant is a recent solution to support the sutures and allow the repair of the canine calcaneal tendon. However, its biomechanical fixation strength remains untested for this pathology. Aim: To evaluate the biomechanical fixation strength of an UHMWPE implant for the repair of the canine calcaneal tendon. Methods: Ex-vivo biomechanical study was carried out on eight cadaveric hindlimbs from four adult dogs. Hindlimbs were tested under two independent modalities: proximal tendinous fixation (PTF) and distal calcaneus fixation (DCF), using a testing machine. PTF was achieved by eight simple interrupted polypropylene sutures performed through the UHMWPE implant. The latter was sandwiched inside the gastrocnemius tendon, which had previously been incised over about 5 cm longitudinally, and through the tendon of the superficial digital flexor. DCF was performed using an interference screw, which locked the UHMWPE implant into a calcaneus tunnel drilled perpendicularly. Results: Yield, failure load and linear stiffness (mean ± SD) for the DCF modality were 920 ± 139 N, 1007 ± 146 N and 92 ± 15.21, respectively, which were greater than for the PTF modality (663 ± 92 N, 685 ± 84 N and 25.71 ± 5.74, respectively, P [Open Vet J 2023; 13(5.000): 645-653]