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The Effects of Aggressive Notchplasty on the Normal Knee in Dogs

Robert F. LaPrade, MD, Glenn C. Terry, MD^,, Ronald D. Montgomery, DVM MS, David Curd, MS and David J. Simmons, PhD^||

Hughston Clinic, Columbus, Georgia
Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn, Alabama
^|| Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas

Presented at the joint meeting of the International Society of the Knee and the International Arthroscopy Association, Hong Kong, May 1995.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Glenn C. Terry, MD, The Hughston Clinic, PC, 6262 Veterans Parkway, Columbus, GA 31908

We assessed the possible association between an aggressive intercondylar notchplasty and histopathologic, radiographic, and gait changes to the knee. Three groups of six adult greyhounds were observed for 6 months. Group I dogs had a sham operation. Group II dogs had a 4-mm notchplasty of the lateral femoral condyle where it articulates with the lateral tibial spine. Group III dogs had a 7- to 8-mm notchplasty of the lateral femoral condyle to simulate the long-term effects of an overly aggressive notchplasty. Force plate gait analyses were not significantly different for any dogs at 3 and 6 months. Histopathologic studies (hematoxylin and eosin and safranin O stains) revealed notchplasty area remodeling with a thin layer of lamellar bone covered by fibrous connective tissue. Both Group II and III dogs had significant loss of lateral femoral condyle and trochlear groove articular surface proteoglycans. The radiographic notch width index remained unchanged throughout the study for Group I; the indexes increased immediately after surgery in Groups II and III because of the notchplasty, but after 6 months these values returned to near-preoperative measurements. An aggressive intercondylar notchplasty caused articular cartilage histopathologic changes at 6 months consistent with those found in knees with early degenerative arthritis. Significant refilling of a nonimpinged notchplasty occurred by 6 months after surgery. Our results raise concern about the effects of aggressive intercondylar notch widening in humans.

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