Effects of femur position on radiographic assessment of completeness of femoral head and neck excision in medium- to large-breed dogs

Objective—To determine the effect of femur positioning on radiographic assessment of completeness of excision after femoral head and neck excision (FHNE) in medium to large breed dogs. Sample Population—10 femurs from canine cadavers (body weight > 20 kg). Procedure—Complete FHNE was performed on 5 canine femurs. Excision consisting of inadequate removal of the medial distal aspect of the femoral neck was performed on the remaining 5 femurs. Each femur was positioned with predetermined amounts of internal and external rotation about the long axis and radiographed. Investigators evaluated a set of 8 radiographic views of each femur. Sensitivity (SE), specificity (SP), positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and completeness of excision assessment accuracy were estimated for each of the femur positions. Results—Craniocaudal radiographic views of the femur positioned with external rotation of 15°, 30°, and 45° as a group had the highest SE, SP, and completeness of excision assessment accuracy r...