Ex vivo biomechanical evaluation of a bone-screw-fastener for tibial plateau leveling osteotomy

William S Kettleman; Michael H Jaffe; Robert W Wills; Sara J Dietz; Steve H Elder

doi:10.3389/fvets.2023.1207563

Ex vivo biomechanical evaluation of a bone-screw-fastener for tibial plateau leveling osteotomy

Front Vet Sci. 2023 Jun 29:10:1207563. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1207563. eCollection 2023.

Authors

William S Kettleman¹, Michael H Jaffe¹, Robert W Wills², Sara J Dietz¹, Steve H Elder³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, United States.
² Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, United States.
³ Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Bagley College of Engineering, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, United States.

Abstract

Introduction: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a novel screw type on stiffness and failure characteristics of a tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) construct under cyclic loading conditions. The authors hypothesized that bone-screw-fasteners (BSF) would result in superior biomechanical stability compared with locking buttress screws (LBS).

Materials and methods: Twelve pairs of canine cadaveric pelvic limbs were included in this ex vivo biomechanical study. A TPLO was performed using a 3.5mm locking TPLO plate and stabilized using either LBS or BSF. Cyclic loading was performed for 30,000 cycles at 4Hz with a peak-load of 1000N (50N valley). The cyclic test was then continued by stepwise incremental increase of peak-load at a rate of 75N per 500 cycles until failure.

Results: Cycles to failure for LBS (44,260 ± 5,770) and BSF (41,540 ± 7,686) were not significantly different (p = 0.36). Maximum force for LBS (3,134 ± 797N) and BSF (2,940 ± 831N) was not significantly different either (p = 0.58). Dynamic stiffness for LBS (1,778 ± 932 N/mm) and BSF (1,574 ± 677 N/mm) was not significantly different (p = 0.58).

Discussion: Stabilization of the TPLO with BSF provided similar biomechanical stability under cyclic axial loading conditions as the LBS. BSF may be an acceptable alternative to traditional locking screws for TPLO.

Keywords: TPLO; bone-screw-fastener; cranial cruciate ligament; screw; stifle.