Measurement of the Femoral Anteversion Angle in Medium and Large Dog Breeds Using Computed Tomography

Ahmad Al Aiyan; Ken Richardson; George Manchi; Mário Ginja; Leo Brunnberg

doi:10.3389/fvets.2021.540406

Measurement of the Femoral Anteversion Angle in Medium and Large Dog Breeds Using Computed Tomography

Front Vet Sci. 2021 Mar 5:8:540406. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.540406. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Ahmad Al Aiyan¹, Ken Richardson², George Manchi³, Mário Ginja⁴, Leo Brunnberg³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Food and Agriculture, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
² College of Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Perth, WA, Australia.
³ Department of Veterinary Medicine, Small Animal Clinic, Freie University Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
⁴ Department of Veterinary Science, Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences (CITAB), University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal.

Abstract

To promote the development of an optimally functional total hip prosthesis for medium and large dog breeds, accurate measurements of the normal anatomy of the proximal femur and acetabular retroversion are essential. The aim of the current study was to obtain precise normal values of the femoral anteversion angle using computed tomography on cadavers of mature dogs with normal hip joints of both medium and large breeds. Based on the length of their femora 58 dogs were allocated either to group I: ≤195 mm or group II: >195 mm. In the study the femoral anteversion angle (FAA) was measured on each femur using multi-slice spiral computed tomography (CT). The data were processed as multi-planar and three-dimensional reconstructions using Advantage Workstation software. The CT measurements showed that the mean ± standard deviation (SD) FAA of group I was 31.34 ± 5.47° and in group II it was 31.02 ± 4.95°. There were no significant mean difference associations between the length of the femur and the femoral neck angle in either group (P > 0.05). The data suggest that a prosthesis FAA of 31 degrees would be suitable for a wide range of dog sizes.

Keywords: canine; computed tomography; femoral anteversion angle; femoral morphology; total hip replacement.