Construct failure is a rare complication of tibial cranial closing wedge ostectomy for the management of cranial cruciate ligament disease.
Construct failure can present significant challenges for reconstruction.
This case report describes three dogs with construct failure which were successfully revised by the repurposing of an inverted femoral supracondylar femoral plate as part of the revision. Data were obtained from the medical records and telephone update.
The use of an inverted supracondylar plate in the proximal tibia generally had good outcomes for the management of bone implant failure following cranial closing wedge ostectomy and offers a hitherto undescribed technique using a low-cost and accessible implant for repair.
It has been demonstrated that locking implants reduce fragment movement in TPLO and locking screws have been shown to provide mechanical advantages over cortical screws, improving construct stability and avoiding primary loss of reduction and reducing subsequent rock-back (Conkling et al., 2010; Leitner et al., 2008). However, although the femoral supracondylar plate does not have locking screws, the cortical (or cancellous) screws placed allow for variable orientation to avoid fissures or engage parts of the bone which would not be possible with a fixed-angle locking system. One case allowed for the placement of a locking TPLO plate in addition to the supracondylar plate, potentially giving the combined benefit of increased fragment stability from the locking plate, with the beneficial screw spread and avoidance of holes and fissures from the supracondylar plate.
