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Tabby Cat Gets Knee Replacement

It is not just humans who are getting knee replacements. A ten-year-old tabby cat named Cyrano, in a medical first, received a new knee last week. Veterinary doctors believe this to be the first feline total knee replacement performed in the U.S.

Doctors from Texas and Washington D.C. were present in the operating theater to assist the three orthopedic surgeons from the North Carolina State University College (NCSU) of Veterinary Medicine in the six hour surgery. The implant, designed and fabricated by an international team of collaborators, was made from dense plastic and a cobalt chromium alloy, using a laser process that hardens metal powder to replicate bones.

"The surgery was kind of a bit difficult, but it went very smoothly," said Dr. Denis Marcellin-Little of NCSU, who led the surgical team, in the January 28 news release.

The cat had previously been treated successfully for bone cancer. But the treatment had left the animal with a painfully damaged knee. The cat’s owner, Sandy Lerner of Upperville, Virginia, sought the knee replacement in an effort to avoid having to amputate the cat's rear left leg. In 2005, Marcellin-Little had performed the world's first surgery to fuse leg implants with a cat's bone tissue, so Cyrano's owner turned to him for help.

Marcellin-Little said the 20-pound tabby's big bones were a plus. "He's already able to stand," he said. "His foot is in the right place, and he can put his foot on the ground. So far, so good. Now we have to be very patient with letting his tissues reattach, and it has to heal slowly."

Knee Replacement Surgery Incidence Soars in Those Over Age 50

Researchers in Finland found that annual cumulative incidences of partial and total knee arthroplasty, commonly known as knee replacement surgery, rose rapidly over a 27-year period among 30 to 59 year-olds in that country, with the greatest increase occurring in patients aged 50 to 59 years. According to the study published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), incidences were higher in women throughout the study period.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a highly disabling joint disease that according to a 2002 report by the World Health Organization (WHO) is the fourth leading cause of years lived with disability worldwide. In the U.S., experts say more than 10 million adults are affected by OA and for those with advanced disease arthroplasty may be the only treatment option to relieve the disabling pain and stiffness, and improve quality of life. In fact, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reports that over 600,000 total knee replacements were performed in the U.S. in 2009 and a previous study estimates that number could grow by 673% to 3.48 million procedures by the year 2030.