Summary
A two-year-old, 97 kg, male neutered English Mastiff was evaluated for left pelvic
limb lameness of five months duration localized to the stifle joint. Following radiographic,
computed tomographic and arthroscopic examination, the lameness was subsequently diagnosed
as being caused by primary synovial osteochondromatosis. In total, 194 osteochondral
bodies were removed using arthroscopy in combination with a mini-arthrotomy. Histology
and immunohistochemistry of the loose osteochondral fragments confirmed the diagnosis
with a moderately high degree of differentiation and low cellularity. Nuclear staining
for Ki-67 revealed decreasing differentiation and increasing cellularity in the fragments.
At the 13 months telephone follow-up the owner reported that the dog was free from
lameness and had a vastly improved function compared with preoperative levels, although
mild lameness did occasionally occur. This is the first report of computed tomography,
arthroscopy and immunohistochemistry confirming a case of primary synovial osteochondromatosis
in a dog.
Keywords
Osteochondromatosis - Ki-67 - dog - stifle - arthroscopy