Andre L. Selmi, DVM, MS, PhD; Bianca M. Penteado, DVM; Bruno T. Lins, DVM, MS
Canine hip dysplasia is a common painful orthopedic disorder, progressively incapacitating, resulting from articular instability and causing degenerative joint disease. Several treatment options are available, including capsular denervation. This study describes the results of percutaneous capsular denervation in 92 dogs diagnosed with hip dysplasia. Lameness (LAM) and pain on palpation (PN) were determined using a visual analogue scale (VAS), muscle girth (MG) and maximum degree of passive extension (PME) and flexion (PMF) of the hip were determined pre-operatively and at days 7, 15, 30, 180 and 360 post-operatively. Dogs were anesthetized and an intramedullary pin was used to percutaneously scrap the craniodorsal border of the acetabulum. LAM and PN were analyzed by means of ANOVA followed by a Friedman test, whereas MG, PME and PMF were analyzed by means of ANOVA followed by a Tukey test. There was a significant decrease in LAM and PN 15 days following surgery. PME presented a significant increase after 30 days of surgery. It is concluded that the percutaneous hip denervation is a simple, effective and quick method in restoring function in the dysplastic hip.