Long-term results of treatment of traumatic coxofemoral joint dislocation in dogs: 64 cases (1973-1992)

Objective - To determine long-term results of various treatments for traumatic coxofemoral joint dislocation in dogs. Design - Retrospective case series. Animals - 64 dogs that underwent closed reduction and bandage stabilization, extracapsular suture stabilization, transacetabular pinning, toggle pinning, DeVita pinning, or femoral head and neck excision. Procedure - Follow-up evaluations included owner evaluation (64 dogs), physical evaluation (23), and radiography (19). Follow-up time ranged from 8 to 156 months. Results - Owner evaluation scores after closed reduction were significantly better than scores after DeVita pinning, extracapsular suture stabilization, and femoral head and neck excision. On physical examination, 6 of 23 dogs were lame on the side of the previous dislocation. Signs of pain and crepitation were evident during palpation of 12 and 8 of 25 joints, respectively. Thirteen of 21 joints had radiographic evidence of degenerative joint disease. There was a greater progression of degenerative joint disease in previously dislocated joints than in unaffected joints. There were not any significant differences between treatments in regard to results of physical and radiographic evaluation. Time between trauma and treatment and existence of concomitant injuries did not influence follow-up results, but there was a significant association between body weight and radiographic evaluation score. Clinical Implications - Concomitant injuries do not appear to justify a worse prognosis in dogs with traumatic coxofemoral joint dislocation, nor does a delay in treatment of > 3 days. Gait abnormalities and degenerative joint disease might develop in the long term. Proper body weight should be maintained regardless of treatment.