Suspected intramedullary bone infarct subsequent to tibial plateau levelling osteotomy in a dog.

BACKGROUND: Bone infarction is a syndrome associated with disruption to the medullary blood supply of a long bone and may present as either a cause of lameness or, more commonly, an incidental finding. Bone infarction is a known complication of total hip replacement in the dog and may be associated with several other systemic diseases.

CASE REPORT: A 3-year-old female desexed Labrador Retriever presented for acute lameness 4 weeks following tibial plateau levelling osteotomy (TPLO). Subsequent radiographs revealed an increase in medullary bone opacity, radiographically consistent with a medullary bone infarction. The lesion was followed with serial radiographs and appeared to spontaneously resolve.

CONCLUSION: This is the first reported case of bone infarction following TPLO in the dog. Bone infarction should be considered as an unlikely but potential complication of TPLO.