Surgical Treatment of Upward Fixation of the Patella in a Multiparous Borana Breed Cow

A 6-year-old multiparous Borana breed cow, which has been suffering from difficulty walking for 6 months, was presented to veterinary teaching hospital. As her previous history indicated, the lameness started during the second gestation, especially in the early morning, and subsides after a few hours of sunrise. She was completely cured after giving her second birth and a similar condition reappeared from the 5th month of the third gestation until she gave birth. However, unexpectedly the disease aggravated after 2 days of parturition, and she was unable to walk and forced to stay indoors due to complete extension of the stifle joint. As a result, she was unable to lay down and maintained a permanent standing position for 2 months of aggravation. Clinical findings showed difficult mobilization of the right hind leg, which was locked in extension at the stifle joint, and the hoof was dragging on the floor. Based on history and clinical findings, upper fixation of the patella was diagnosed, and it was treated with median patellar desmotomy under local anesthetic infiltration. Finally, after the complete severing of the medial ligament and skin closure, the animal was able to walk normally, and the wound was healed uneventfully.