Stifle joint reconstruction technique using fascia lata in a cat with cranial cruciate ligament rupture

Abstract

A two-year-old spayed female mongrel cat presenting with right hind limb lameness with intermittent weight bearing while walking was taken to the veterinary medicine teaching hospital of National Chung Hsing University. Both drawer test and tibial compression test were positive, stifle radiography showed synovial fluid had become more radiopaque. The tentative diagnosis for the cat was rupture of the right cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL), medical management using corticosteroids was prescribed with anticoagulants and surgical treatment recommended. Intracapsular reconstruction was performed and the postoperative recovery of this cat presented normal physical status with improved right hind limb weight-bearing activity. This report presents the first use of fascia lata in intracapsular reconstruction surgery to simulate the original ligament in normal stifle.