Abstract

Background: Patellar luxation (PL) is a common orthopedic affection in farm and pet animals with mostly congenital (environmental and/or genetic) background. Aim: We report here the first observation of lateral PL in Hejazi goats bred in Libya. Methods: Five Hejazi goats aged from four months to two years with severe hind limb lameness were admitted to Al-Sorouh veterinary clinic in Tripoli in the period from 2016 to 2018. The goats were thoroughly examined clinically and radiographically. Two goats were surgically treated and the other three cases were not because of either the cost limitation or expected poor prognosis. The surgical intervention involved femoral trochlear sulcoplasty, medial joint capsule imbrication and transposition of tibial tuberosity. Results: The clinical examination showed grade III to IV lateral PL. Radiologically, there were unilateral or bilateral, ventrocaudal and dorsal PLs. Two cases were referred to surgical correction. One case almost restored normal movement of stifle joint together with a good general status one year post-surgery. However, the surgical treatment was not such effective to correct the luxated patella in the second case. Conclusion: lateral PL is common among orthopedic affections in Hejazi goats in Libya and its surgical treatment provided a quite convenient approach. An association between inbreeding and the PL was suggested in those cases.

Key words: Keywords: clinical and radiological findings, Hejazi goat breed, inbreeding, patellar luxation, surgical treatment.