Surgical Repair of Congenital Lateral Luxation of the Patella in the Foal and Calf

Repair of lateral luxation of the patella in horses and cows has consistently produced poor results; reluxation, muscle atrophy, septic arthritis, and degenerative joint disease are frequent postoperative complications of the techniques previously described. A new technique for repair of congenital lateral luxation of the patella in foals and calves is described; it includes lateral release of the patella followed by imbrication of the medial aspect of the joint capsule. Postoperative evaluation, up to 1½ years, confirmed the efficacy of the technique with retention of normal patellar position and range of motion. Muscle atrophy and lameness disappeared completely in 2 animals, which showed no radiographic evidence of degenerative joint disease at the time of surgical repair. Since the preparation of this article, 3 more calves have been successfully repaired with excellent clinical results up to 12 weeks postoperatively.