MENISCUS INJURIES IN DOGS WITH RUPTURE OF THE CRUCIATE LIGAMENT

In a period of 18 months, 132 stifle joints of 125 dogs with a partial or complete rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament were examined ac cording to a systematic protocol at the Clinic for Small Animals of th e School of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany. Surgery was perfor med with either an intraarticular or extraarticular surgical technique . In all cases a ''cleaning up'' was carried out. If the medial menisc us was damaged it was resected and the lesion was inspected macroscopi cally. After six months, 88 patients were examined clinically and radi ologically according to the same protocol as half a year before. Injur ies of the medial meniscus occured in 77.3 % of the 132 cases. Further more it could be shown that patients which had a lameness for more tha n six weeks before examination had a higher rate of lesions of the med ial meniscus than patients that had been lame for a shorter period. A detachment of the caudal horn of the medial meniscus was the most comm on meniscal lesion. There was no difference in success of therapy betw een patients with a meniscal resection and those without resection.