Objectives: (1) To report surgical repair techniques for common calcaneal tendon injuries in cats; (2) to describe both short-term and long-term complications; (3) to investigate the long-term outcome following temporary postoperative immobilisation of the tarsocrural joint; and (4) to evaluate how all three objectives, as well as patient signalment and type of tendinous injury, compared to previously reported studies.
Materials and methods: A multicentric, retrospective study reviewing cases from 11 referral veterinary centres. Data collected included patient demographics, common calcaneal tendon injuries characteristics, repair techniques employed and postoperative immobilisation methods. Based on the temporary tarsocrural joint immobilisation methods, the cases were divided into internal fixation group: calcaneo-tibial screws or plate and tibiometatarsal plate, and external immobilisation group: trans-articular external skeletal fixation or external coaptation. Complications were classified as minor, major or catastrophic. Long-term outcomes were assessed through clinical follow-up examination and owner-reported questionnaires.
Results: A total of 39 cases of common calcaneal tendon repair were analysed. The internal fixation and external immobilisation groups showed a complication rate of 13% and 54.2%, respectively. Catastrophic complications (5.2%) occurred only in the external immobilisation group. Long-term follow-up indicated that 82% of cases regained full or acceptable clinical function, with a higher rate of unacceptable outcomes observed in the external immobilisation group.
Clinical significance: This study suggested that temporary internal fixation may be a more suitable method for postoperative immobilisation of the tarsocrural joint in cats compared with temporary external immobilisation, and it can be associated with lower complication rates.
