Arthroscopic Evaluation of Elbow, Hip and Stifle Joint Disorders in Dogs

Survey radiographs reveal mainly the bony changes and most joint disorders do not affect bone primarily. Arthroscopy is a valuable diagnostic tool for detecting intra-articular joint derangements which are difficult to be assessed by routine clinical and radiographic methods. The present study was taken up to evaluate the arthroscopic findings in elbow, hip and stifle joint disorders. The study consisted of 18 dogs divided into 3 groups. Each group consisted of six dogs with elbow joint, hip joint and stifle joint disorders respectively. All the dogs were subjected to arthroscopic evaluation. Arthroscopic evaluation dogs with elbow, hip and stifle joint disorders revealed changes like elbow dysplasia, round ligament and labral tears in hip joint, cruciate ligament ruptures in the stifle joint. The study revealed that arthroscopy is minimally invasive and a superior diagnostic technique for joint disorders.