Ligamentum teres reconstruction using autogenous semitendinosus tendon with toggle technique in rabbits
Rebeca Bastos Abibe,
Sheila Canevese Rahal,
Luciane dos Reis Mesquita,
Danuta Doiche,
Jeana Pereira da Silva,
Maria Jaqueline Mamprim,
Renata Haddad Pinho,
Alexandre Battazza,
Carlos Eduardo Fonseca Alves,
W. Brian Saunders
Affiliations
Rebeca Bastos Abibe
Department of Veterinary Surgery and Animal Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
Sheila Canevese Rahal
Department of Veterinary Surgery and Animal Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
Luciane dos Reis Mesquita
Department of Veterinary Surgery and Animal Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
Danuta Doiche
Department of Veterinary Surgery and Animal Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
Jeana Pereira da Silva
Department of Veterinary Surgery and Animal Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
Maria Jaqueline Mamprim
Department of Veterinary Surgery and Animal Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
Renata Haddad Pinho
Department of Veterinary Surgery and Animal Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
Alexandre Battazza
Department of Veterinary Clinic, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
Carlos Eduardo Fonseca Alves
Department of Veterinary Surgery and Animal Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
W. Brian Saunders
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States
Background Ligamentum teres (LT) has traditionally been considered a vestigial or redundant structure in humans; however, based on new studies and the evolution of hip arthroscopy, the LT injury has been viewed as a source of hip pain. Therefore, LT reconstruction can be beneficial in some cases. Rabbits have been frequently used as a model for cranial cruciate ligament reconstruction but few studies are available for ligamentum teres reconstruction. Objective To evaluate the semitendinosus tendon to replace ligamentum teres with the toggle technique, using rabbits as an experimental model. Methods Twenty-six female Norfolk rabbits with approximately 3 months of age were divided into two equal groups after excision of ligamentum teres (LT) from the right hip joint: G1—no reconstruction of LT and capsulorrhaphy; G2—double—bundle reconstruction of the LT using semitendinosus tendon autograft. In both groups, the LT was removed from the right hip joint. In G2 the autograft was harvested from the left hind limb of the same rabbit. The rabbits were evaluated clinically at different time intervals; before surgery (M1), 48 h (M2), 15 days (M3), 30 days (M4) and 90 days (M5) after surgery. Results The rabbits supported their limbs on the ground in both the groups. As complications of the procedure, four hip joints showed subluxations in the radiographic evaluation of G1; three at M4 and one at M5. In G2; two luxations of hip joints at M3 and one subluxation at M4 were seen. On ultrasound, irregular articular surface was seen in 30.8% of the rabbits that had subluxation of hip joints. Gross evaluation identified tendon graft integrity in 76.92% of the rabbits. Histological analysis revealed graft adhesion to the bone in the early phase comprised of sharpey-like collagen fibers. Conclusion The double-bundle reconstruction of the LT using autologous semitendinosus tendon associated with the toggle rod shows an early phase of tendon graft ligamentization at 90 days post-operatively in young rabbits, but biomechanical bias suffered by the tendon during gait must be considered.
