Distally centered osteotomies, but not joint inspection, are associated with increased radiographic patellar tendon thickness at short-term follow-up after tibial plateau leveling osteotomy in dogs.

DCO positioning predisposes to persistent patellar tendon thickening; arthrotomy causes transient thickening.

This retrospective study evaluated patellar tendon thickness (PTT) changes following tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) in 145 canine stifles, examining the effects of joint inspection via mini medial arthrotomy (MA) versus no arthrotomy (NA), and osteotomy positioning as distally centered (DCO) or ideally centered (ICO). Joint inspection with MA produced significantly greater postoperative PTT (7.42 mm) compared to NA (5.44 mm), though this difference resolved at recheck examination. Osteotomy positioning had no immediate postoperative effect on PTT; however, at recheck examination, DCO cases demonstrated persistently greater PTT (7.81 mm) than ICO cases (6.55 mm). The findings suggest that mini medial arthrotomy causes transient postoperative patellar tendon thickening, while distally centered osteotomy positioning may predispose to persistent radiographic tendon changes. These results provide clinically relevant information for surgical technique optimization during TPLO procedures.

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