In both veterinary and human medicine, artificial joint replacements have become more common as technology has advanced. Animals may receive an artificial joint for a variety of reasons, one of which is osteochondrosis.
Dr. Brian Saunders, a veterinary orthopedic surgeon and associate professor at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, discusses this condition and its treatment options, including joint replacement surgery. Osteochondrosis (OC) is a developmental skeletal disorder in which improper cartilage development leads to abnormally thick areas of cartilage. This thickened cartilage is predisposed to weakening and can develop fissures or cracks, or even break off to float freely within joints.
“We see OC most commonly in the shoulder of dogs, but we also see it in other locations such as the knee, the elbow, and the ankle,” Saunders said. “This problem is not limited to our canine patients; it occurs in a variety of species.”
