RCVS Knowledge launches first of its kind veterinary surgical registry  

The Canine Cruciate Registry is a free, anonymised, data collection audit tool that will enable vets to share information on techniques and procedures to continuously improve patient care.

We will collect data from both vets and dog owners on patients recovering from cruciate surgery to identify which procedures and techniques give the best outcomes and have the fewest complications.

Injury to the cruciate ligament is one of the most common causes of lameness and the most common type of orthopaedic problem in dogs, affecting about 1 in every 200 individuals in the UK each year.

Surgery is widely accepted to result in better outcomes for cruciate patients, however, there is a lack of high-quality evidence comparing which surgical techniques and implants are most effective and have the fewest complications.

The Canine Cruciate Registry aims to fill this gap and provide evidence that veterinary surgeons worldwide can access to help guide decision-making about techniques for every patient they see with a cruciate rupture.

We have developed the registry with Amplitude Clinical Outcomes, a global leader in online registry software. It involves a web-based series of questions that vets, and dog owners are asked to complete throughout the dog’s care, to monitor their long-term progress.

In human medicine and surgery, outcome measures are common practice, with many human surgeries involving mandatory data entry onto a national registry.

Clinical Lead for the RCVS Knowledge Canine Cruciate Registry is veterinary orthopaedic surgeon Mark Morton. He said: “Thanks to several years of hard work and development from a group of vets across the UK and the team at RCVS Knowledge, I am delighted that the Canine Cruciate Registry is now up and running.

“We want to work with as many vets and dog owners as possible, we want to know about complications, we want to know about different techniques and how dogs recover so we can build a knowledge base for vets around the world to improve the quality of care they provide.

“As vets, it's our job to advise owners on treatments options, as well as what can go wrong with those treatment options and how often these potential complications may occur.

“I invite all vets in the UK as well as owners caring for dogs having cruciate surgery to join us and help improve outcomes for all patients in the future.”

Chair of the RCVS Knowledge Board of Trustees, Amanda Boag said: “This is a hugely exciting step forward in developing quality improvement initiatives within the veterinary profession and potentially transformational in terms of consistency and quality of care for our patients.

“I applaud the vision of the surgeons in setting this registry up and am keen to see how the same approach can be applied in other common disease conditions.” 

Orthopaedic Surgeon, Richard Whitelock said: “The benefits of the Canine Cruciate Registry are immense – for dogs, owners and veterinary surgeons. Owners will be able to make better-informed decisions and their feedback on outcomes will be included. Surgeons will be able to monitor and compare their results, adapting and improving their treatments accordingly.

“I believe that the Canine Cruciate Registry could trigger a widespread change in the veterinary profession, we look forward to owners and surgeons across the UK engaging with it.”

The Canine Cruciate Registry has been endorsed by the British Veterinary Orthopaedic Association (BVOA), and all UK vets performing cruciate surgery are encouraged to sign up to the registry.

Learn more about the Canine Cruciate Registry: caninecruciateregistry.org