Role of Tibial Tuberosity Fracture/Fissure through the Maquet Hole in Stifle Osteoarthritis after Porous Tibial Tuberosity Advancement in Dogs at Mid-Term Follow-Up

Tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA) is used to treat cranial cruciate ligament rupture of the stifle joint in dogs. Tibial tuberosity fracture/fissure is a complication of TTA that may have a favorable prognosis. The aim of this study was to detect how tibial tuberosity fracture/fissure through the Maquet hole worsens the progression of osteoarthritis (OA) in the stifle joint of dogs treated with porous TTA. Seventeen cases were included in the study, divided into two groups. The first group (n = 10) included subjects that had tibial tuberosity fracture/fissure through the Maquet, and the second group included subjects that had no complications (n = 7). Both groups showed significant progression compared to OA at 3 months after surgery. We observed that at T0, the control group showed a higher level of OA. For this reason, we normalized the OA scores, evaluating the percentage difference from T0 and T1. We verified that there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups. The results confirm that OA progression in subjects undergoing TTA was not significantly influenced by fracture/fissure of the tibial tuberosity through the Maquet hole. Therefore, fracture fissure through the Maquet hole should be considered as a common minor complication during TTA.