Experience of using modern means and methods to stabilize the knee joint in animals with torn anterior cruciate ligaments

Abstract

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is a severe and complex pathology of the musculoskeletal system and accounts for 75% of all knee injuries. This condition affects dogs of all breeds regardless of gender or age. If left untreated, ACL rupture may lead to instability in the knee joint, causing pain, impaired biomechanics, chronic inflammation, cartilage damage, and eventually, osteoarthritis. Veterinary orthopedic surgeons are forced to look for modern low-traumatic and effective reconstructive-restorative treatment methods that reduce the recovery period. Surgical correction of a torn anterior cruciate ligament is performed by changing the biomechanics of the joint or by prosthetically replacing the ligament with various implants, but nowadays many specialists use a protocol that consolidates the advantages of both treatment methods. The progressive research works, and the problems of treatment of animals with traumatic injuries of the knee joint - rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament were studied. The materials and methods of surgical treatment of rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament aimed at achieving functional (dynamic) stabilization of the knee joint were analyzed. After conducting literature search, the descriptions of more than 90 methods of surgical correction of the ACL were found, but there were no polyfunctional studies that gave guidelines on the use of a certain method of treatment of rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament. The lack of a universal ACL treatment method is due to a lack of full understanding of the disease pathogenesis and the inability to prevent it. Therefore, the restoration of damaged joints is an urgent issue that requires the attention of veterinary traumatology and orthopedics.