Student Case Study

Submitted by Laci Taylor, Cornell University

Surgical Management of Bilateral Elbow Dysplasia in a 1-year-8-month-old

Mastiff

Abstract

A 1-year-8-month-old female spayed Mastiff presented to Cornell’s Orthopedic Surgery

service for a three-week history of reluctance to walk and non-weight bearing lameness of the

left thoracic limb. Physical examination revealed bilateral elbow thickening, severely decreased

range of motion of both elbow joints, bilateral hip pain, and bilateral grade I/IV medial luxating

patellas. A computed tomography scan revealed severe bilateral elbow osteoarthritis, bilateral

ununited anconeal processes, and bilateral fragmented coronoid processes which confirmed

the presence of bilateral elbow dysplasia.

Surgical management of the right, more severely affected elbow, was elected. Following right

elbow arthroscopy, a surgical approach to the olecranon was performed, and the ununited

anconeal process was visualized and determined to be unstable. It was surgically repaired with

a screw and an anti-rotational pin, and a proximal ulnar osteotomy was performed without

complication.

This report will discuss the presentation, diagnosis, and surgical management of a case of

bilateral elbow dysplasia.

Read the full case report here