Gait Analysis and Functional Outcomes Following Pan Tarsal Arthrodesis of Tarsal Joint in a Toy Poodle

A 12-year-old castrated Toy Poodle was referred with a continuous non-weight bearing lameness of right hind limb due to a traffic accident 9 years ago. Physical examination and radiographs revealed partial loss of right calcaneal bone, loss of Achilles tendon and disused muscular atrophy. Arthrodesis was performed to preserve the function of the right hind limb. Pan tarsal arthrodesis plate was applied medially with 2.7 mm cortical screws and 2.0 mm cortical screws. During fixation, cancellous bone chip was transplanted into the arthrodesis site. A bone union was confirmed 9 weeks after surgery. Furthermore, on the gait analysis, the weight-bearing of right hind limb was restored to 70% of the opposite hind limb. Arthrodesis can be used to treat more difficult and serious problems affecting the joints. In particular, arthrodesis is indicated in cases such as comminuted intraarticular fractures and irreparable injury of the calcaneal tendon apparatus in the hock joint. In this case, the pan tarsal arthrodesis provided stability to the hock joint and improved the gait by restoring severe chronic damage. In conclusion, we successfully treated a challenging disability of hock joint using pan tarsal arthrodesis to restore the legs that were non-weight bearing due to chronic injury by traffic accident and objectively ascertained the increased weight bearing by gait analysis.