Surgical repair of Achilles tendon rupture in dogs: a review of the literature, a case report and new perspectives

Abstract

Achilles tendon rupture in the dog is a common traumatic lesion. An accurate evaluation of etiology, grade of the lesion with or without loss of tendon substance, and time elapsed from the trauma can guide the surgeon in choosing the best surgical technique. Moreover, the healing process after a tendon injury is usually difficult and uncertain because the prognosis is influenced by extent of trauma, time elapsed between the trauma and its treatment and low tendon vascularization. However, the rapid development of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine could soon result in the development of scaffolds with bioactive proteins that can direct the healing process toward complete tendon regeneration without fibrotic tissue development.

Avulsão das origens lateral e medial do músculo gastrocnêmio em gata: relato de caso

“…De início, pensou-se em imobilizar a articulação tibiotársica com um parafuso ou pino transcalcaneotibial, mas, diante da reduzida espessura do osso tarsal, não foi possível. O membro foi, então, imobilizado com uma tala de Robert Jones modificada, o que também é indicado por Spinella et al (2010), tendo, neste caso, resultado satisfatório.…”

“…Contudo, Virchenko e Aspenberg (2006) preconizam que a imobilização precoce da articulação tibiotársica em lesões do mecanismo do tendão de Aquiles melhora o processo de cicatrização e aumenta a resistência à tração do reparo do tendão. Esse quadro foi corrigido com a implementação da fisioterapia (Spinella et al, 2010) e a bandagem do membro utilizada para lesão do nervo ciático (Slocum e Slocum, 1998), que eleva a extremidade dos dígitos e, assim, impede o apoio incorreto da pata.…”

“…As técnicas de imobilização incluem fixador esquelético externo transarticular, parafuso trans-calcaneotibial e vários tipos de talas e órteses (Spinella et al, 2010).…”

Evaluation of Achilles Tendon Injuries with Findings from Diagnostic Musculoskeletal Ultrasound in Canines – 43 Cases

“…Although Achilles tendon rupture is an uncommon tendon injury, it has been described frequently in dogs (Reinke et al, 1993;King et al, 2003;Corr et al, 2010;Spinella et al, 2010). Mature middle-aged, medium to large-breed active dogs seem to be most commonly affected by this type of injury (Kramer et al, 2001; Harasen, 2006; Rivers, 1997).…”

“…Meutstege proposed in 1993 a classification for canine Achilles tendon injuries based on the localisation of lesions and gross pathology, where type I is a complete rupture, type IIa affects the musculotendinous junction, type IIb has an intact paratendon, type IIc is a GT avulsion with intact SDFT and type III tendinosis and/or peritendinitis (Meutstege, 1993). When there is a complete disruption of the Achilles tendon apparatus the dog will be initially non-weight bearing and a swelling may be noted at the point of the tarsus (calcaneus) (Caine et al, 2009;Cervi et al, 2010;Spinella et al, 2010). In some cases, a skin lesion/laceration may be evident and there may be a palpable tendon defect (Vaughan, 1981).…”