Scintimetry of hip joint tamponade in dogs

A unilateral, continuous hip joint pressure of 50 mm Hg was established for 6 h in five puppies under general anesthesia. 99mTc-DPD scintimetry 2 and 4 weeks after tamponade showed the mean ratio between the investigated and control hip to be 1.00 and 1.01, respectively, in the epiphyses. After killing and removal of the upper femora, the same ratio was 0.94 for epiphyses and 1.02 for metaphyses. Our study did not show signs of persistent bone ischemia after tamponade below the arterial pressure.