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Updated: Jun 22, 2026
Surgical Technique of the 3-Dimensional-printed Personalized Hip Implant for the Treatment of Canine Hip Dysplasia
Published on: April 19, 2024
Cementless total hip replacement in an alpaca
Kyla F Ortved1, Ursula Krotscheck, Samantha A Collins
1Cornell University Hospital for Animals and Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA. ko222@cornell.edu
Objective:
To report management of a chronic slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) in an alpaca using cementless total hip replacement (THR).
Study Design:
Case report.
Animal:
An 18-month-old, 47 kg alpaca male.
Methods:
Cementless THR was performed in an alpaca with a chronic, right SCFE, and secondary osteoarthritis. Force plate gait analysis was performed before and 8 weeks after surgery. Outcome was determined through clinical evaluation, radiography, and force plate gait analysis.
Results:
Cementless THR resulted in marked improvement in the alpaca's comfort level, degree of lameness, and range of motion. On preoperative force plate gait analysis there was decreased contact time (P=.01) and vertical impulse (P<.01) of the affected limb, whereas at 8 weeks postoperatively significant differences in gait analysis between pelvic limbs were not apparent.
Conclusion:
THR using a BioMedtrix canine cementless modular prosthesis restored hip function in an alpaca with coxofemoral osteoarthritis from chronic SCFE.
Clinical Relevance:
THR may be an appropriate treatment for selected traumatic and degenerative conditions of the coxofemoral joint in alpacas.