A new technique of extracapsular restoration with a tie made of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) for rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament in dogs.

A new extracapsular technique for repair of canine cranial cruciate ligament rupture using an ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) tie was presented. Eighteen dogs (body weight: 6.0-46 kg) with this problem were used for this study. The advantages of this method were 1) the operation was easily performed. 2) Joint could be stabilized by proper fixation with microadjustment during operation. 3) This method presented less surgical invasion than the intracapsular one, since wide incision was not conducted over peripheral tissue of the stifle joint.