SA Forelimb Flashcards
What are some potential problems you can get with the shoulder joint?
- soft tissue injuries –> instability
- biceps tendon injury
- osteochondrosis / OCD
- infraspinatous contracture
- fracture of scapula or proximal humerus
- osteoarthritis
What are some shoulder soft tissues that can be damaged to cause shoulder instability?
- Medial glenohumeral ligament
- Lateral glenohumeral ligament
- Subscapularis tenson
What is the treatment for the shoulder instability with soft tissue injuries?
Conservative: motnhs
Surgical imbrication (capsulorrhaphy) or reinforcement (some debate as to the usefulness of these techniques)
How can you diagnose a biceps tendon injury in the shoulder?
Can be difficult to diagnose
Biceps test - pain on shoulder flexion with elbow extension
Usually partially torn at insertion on supraglenoid tubercle of scapula
What is the treatment for a biceps tendon injury of the shoulder?
- Conservative –prolonged rest (months) + NSAID’s
- Intra-articular corticosteroid injection
- Surgical release of biceps tendon at insertion +/-re-attachment to proximal humerus with screw and spiked washer (tenodesis)
- One treatment is to cut the tendon if slightly torn –reduces the pain, the lameness may come from discomfort from the tearing of the fibres,so can relieve this by getting rid of the tearing but actually cutting it
What is the signalement for osteochondrosis of the shoulder?
Young, medium to large breed dogs particularly border collies
What is the diagnosis for osteochondrosis of the shoulder?
- Radiography –subchondral bone lucency
- Arthrogram –highlights flap
- Arthroscopy –direct visualisation of the flap. – can see the flap without the cause for any radiographic technique. Also allows you to remove the flap. Some don’t want flap removing, they just exercise the dog a lot so the flap comes off
What is wrong with this arthrogram radiograph?
Shoulder: osteochondrosis
What are the treatment options for osteochondrosis of the shoulder?
What is the prognosis?
Treatment:
- Conservative if not very lame
- Surgery to remove flap (arthrotomy or arthroscopy)
- Prognosis: good to excellent (esp. if < 12-months-old)
What can cause mineralisation of soft tissues in the shoulder?
- May be incidental finding
- May be associated with forelimb lameness and pain on firm palpation of region
- Mineralisation of various tendons can occur –can seeonthebicipital groove.Sometimesofno significancebutoccasionally can occurontendon ofinsertion and can be indicative of some pathology in these tendons, some can remove these and it improves lameness but this is questionable
- Supraspinatous muscles
- Bicipital groove
What is wrong here with this radiograph?
Mineralisation of soft tissues
Supraspinatous muscle
Bicipital groove
What is the treatment for mineralisation of soft tissues?
Sometimes of no significance and is an incidental finding - sometimes no treatment required
Conservative
Surgical excision
What is infraspinatous contracture?
Occurs in working dogs mostly
Repetitive trauma is a possible association
Contracture - a condition of shortening and hardening of muscles, tendons, or other tissue, often leading to deformity and rigidity of joints
What is the classical posture for infraspinatous contracture?
Flexed elbow with external rotation of the limb - elbow flexed and hold leg abducted out to the side
What is the treatment for infraspinatous contrature?
Isolate and identify this tendon and cut it –> instant improvement, good long-term prognosis
What is this posture a sign of?
Flexed elbow with external rotation of the limb - elbow flexed and hold leg abducted out to the side
Classical posture of infraspinatous contracture
What things can go wrong most commonly with the elbow joint?
Elbow dysplasia
Osteoarthritis
Elbow fractures
What is elbow dysplasia and what causes it?
- Dysplasia = abnormal elbow development
- group of developmental problems
- insufficient evidence for single underlying mechanism
- can be bilateral or unilateral
- can be > 1 condition in same elbow
- ‘ medial compartment disease ’
- Not clear there is a single underlying mechanism that causes it, there is an element of genetics and developmental abnormalities
- Can be bi or unilateral
- Gives rise to more than one particular condition within the elbow
What is the general underlying cause of elbow dysplasia?
Incongruence - alteration in the smooth transition of the articular surfaces
What can incongruence result from?
Incongruence can result from either a short radius or ulna
What can abnormal stresses placed on the articular surfaces cause?
Fragmented medial cornoid, osteochondrosis dessicans and ununited anconeal process and possible a fragmented medial epicondyle and tendon enthesiopathy
- all of these give rise to OA/DJD
What is a tendon enthesiopathy?
an enthesopathy refers to a disorder involving the attachment of a tendon or ligament to a bone. This site of attachment is known as the enthesis
What is the characteristic stance of a dog with elbow dysplasia?
Hold the affected leg slightly abducted, wont take full pressure on it and slightly externally rotated
What is the most important factor that gives rise to elbow dysplasia?
It is a multifactoral disease, but most important factor is genetic make up of the dog: polygenic + high heritability
High degree of heritability
What are some things that can influence the severity of elbow dysplasia?
- Growth rate
- Diet
- Exercise
They cannot prevent the disease or reduce the potential of the dog to pass it on to its offspring