Short-term outcomes of 43 dogs treated with arthroscopic suturing for meniscal tears associated with cranial cruciate ligament disease.

TPLO with internal bracing improves meniscal repair success rates compared to TPLO alone.

This retrospective case series evaluated short-term outcomes of arthroscopic meniscal suturing in 43 dogs with concurrent cruciate ligament disease treated via tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO). Forty-four meniscal repairs were performed using eight different suture materials to address five types of meniscal pathology, including unstable menisci, caudal vertical longitudinal tears, and bucket-handle tears. Overall complications occurred in 34% of cases, though most were unrelated to the suturing procedure itself. Critically, the choice of stifle stabilization technique significantly influenced outcomes (p = 0.049): TPLO combined with internal bracing achieved a 93.3% success rate compared to 71.4% with TPLO alone. Outcome assessment included physical examination, radiographic evaluation, gait analysis, LOAD scores, and second-look arthroscopy. Results suggest that current selection criteria for meniscal suturing in dogs may be unnecessarily restrictive, as multiple tear types were successfully managed. The findings emphasize that postoperative stifle stability is critical for successful meniscal repair outcomes.

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