Collateral ligament prosthesis for the repair of subluxation of the metatarsophalangeal joint in a Jersey cow

A two-and-a-half-year-old Jersey cow had been moderately lame in its right hindlimb for one month. Clinical and radiographic examinations revealed an incomplete lateral luxation of the metatarsophalangeal joint. The medial co ndyle of the metatarsal bone was locked in the condylar groove of the media l first phalanx. The subluxation was reduced, the joint carefully debrided and irrigated, and the torn ligament was replaced with ii synthetic: prosth esis which was fixed with titanium alloy staples. One year after surgery, t he joint was slightly swollen but the cow was not lame.