The tension applied to sutures can affect their performance. In laparoscopic procedures, the ability to tension sutures may be compromised by the confined space. The ability to accurately judge tension may also be compromised by lever arms of long instruments and interaction between the instrument and trocar. A miniature suture tensiometer that can be used in open and laparoscopic settings has been developed that demonstrates a maximum error of 0.05 lb over a 2-lb range. This device has been used in laparoscopic surgery to measure suture tension. The suture tension information gathered has been used in the development of a device that reliably delivers a secure knot in a laparoscopic setting.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The use of intraneural doxorubicin in association with palmar digital neurectomy in 28 horses.

Painful neuroma formation after palmar digital neurectomy in the horse is common. Experimentally, injection of doxorubicin (Adriamycin) into the proximal transected nerve stump has been shown to prevent axon sprouting and neuroma formation for up to 5 months. This procedure was used in 28 horses with navicular disease, preexisting painful neuroma, or wing fractures of the distal phalanx. At 1 month, 16 horses had incisional complications. At 1 year, 15 horses were sound. Eight horses were lame, although three were improved. Three horses required a second surgical procedure, two of which became sound. Follow-up was not available in two horses. The technique used in this study has an unacceptable rate of wound complications and no benefit over other palmar digital neurectomy techniques currently in use.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The clinical and pathologic heterogeneity of feline alpha-mannosidosis.

Three Domestic Long-haired cats from a litter of five afflicted with alpha-mannosidosis (alpha-mannosidosis) were studied clinically and pathologically. Many of these findings contrasted with those made previously in kittens with deficiency of alpha-mannosidase. In these cats, the clinical signs were generally milder, more slowly progressive, and did not include the prominent skeletal deformities, ocular abnormalities, or hepatomegaly that were reported in prior studies of Persian and Domestic Short-haired kittens. While the Domestic Long-haired cats were spared the central nervous system (CNS) myelin deficiency, which was severe in the Persian but mild in the Domestic Short-haired cats, the extensive loss of Purkinje cells in their cerebellar cortices was without precedent. Additionally, ultrastructural study of the neuronal cytosomes showed a diversity not recorded in the earlier cases. The observed phenotypic heterogeneity was sufficient enough to consider separating feline alpha-mannosidosis into severe, acute and milder, chronic forms in a manner analogous to the Type I and Type II distinctions made in infants and juveniles.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Multisystemic chromatolytic neuronal degeneration in Cairn terriers. A case with generalized cataplectic episodes.

Multisystemic chromatolytic neuronal degeneration, a newly recognized disease of Cairn Terriers, is described in a second affected North American puppy. In this puppy, the early onset of hind limb weakness at 11 weeks and rapid development of signs of diffuse CNS involvement were distinctive. Signs of cerebellar dysfunction were prominent, but bouts of cataplectic collapse in this puppy constituted the most distinguishing clinical feature. Although electroencephalograph (EEG) recordings lacked a true rapid eye movement (REM) pattern during cataplectic episodes, cervical electromyograph (EMG) potentials ceased or diminished, and imipramine injection was associated with arousal. Postmortem studies revealed that chromatolytic degeneration was very widespread, affecting many neuronal populations in the brain and spinal cord as well as neurons in sensory ganglia. Although the pattern of chromatolysis varied among affected perikarya, chromatolysis was consistently related to dispersion and loss of ribosomes. In this puppy, as opposed to six studied previously, thoracolumbar myelomalacia also occurred symmetrically in the dorsal horns and adjoining funicular white matter. The metabolic derangement underlying this chromatolytic neuronal degeneration and myelomalacia remains unknown.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

An analysis of the pivot shift phenomenon. The knee motions and subluxations induced by different examiners.

The description of the pivot shift test and its modifications is for the most part based on clinical observations. We wished to precisely determine the knee motions and medial-lateral tibiofemoral compartment subluxations that examiners induce in the knee joint to produce the pivot shift phenomenon. Eleven skilled knee surgeons performed the pivot shift test on an instrumented cadaveric lower limb. The anterior cruciate and superficial medial collateral ligaments (long fibers) of one limb were sectioned to produce an abnormal state. An instrumented spatial linkage allowed all six degrees of freedom motions to be measured. Before and after ligament sectioning we determined the limits of knee motion under defined loading conditions. The tibial and femoral bony landmarks were digitized to determine the positions of the medial and lateral tibial plateaus in reference to the femoral condyles during the pivot shift tests. Each examiner performed his pivot shift test. The analysis of the data showed that examiners typically induced a coupled anterior translation and internal tibial rotation to produce an anterior tibial subluxation, and a coupled posterior translation and external tibial rotation to induce the reduction event. The magnitude of anterior subluxation of each plateau depended upon the examiner's technique. The maximal anterior subluxation of the lateral tibial plateau varied from 14 to 19.8 mm (mean, 17.2 +/- 2.0 mm), whereas anterior subluxation of the medial tibial plateau ranged from 6 to 16.9 mm (mean, 11.2 +/- 3.3 mm).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Femur↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The diagnosis of knee motion limits, subluxations, and ligament injury.

The clinical diagnosis of knee ligament injuries requires the clinician to: 1) estimate the abnormal motion limits that occur in one or more of the six degrees of freedom that comprise three-dimensional motion; 2) determine the abnormal position (subluxation) of the medial and lateral tibiofemoral compartments; and 3) precisely define the anatomical structures injured and degree of that injury. To determine the clinician's ability to perform these tasks, we evaluated 11 knee surgeons' clinical examination for knee instability. The positions and motions included were measured in right-left cadaveric knees by a three-dimensional instrumented spacial linkage. We compared the clinicians' estimate of knee motion limits and subluxations with the actual measured values. Before and after the clinicians' examination, the three-dimensional limits of knee motion were measured in the knees in the laboratory under defined loading conditions. Also, in one knee, the ACL and superficial medial collateral ligament were cut and the examiners, none of whom were informed of the sectioning, were asked to arrive at a diagnosis. The results for all of the clinical instability tests were similar. There was wide variability between examiners in the starting position of knee flexion and tibial rotation and in the amount of tibial translation and rotation induced. Although some examiners displaced the knee to the maximal displacement limits obtained in the laboratory, others did not, by a substantial margin. This suggests a wide variation in the loads applied by examiners to the knee joint during the tests.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Anterior Cruciate Ligament↗