Abnormalities of the volar and plantar sesamoid bones in Rottweilers

The fore and hind feet of 50 unselected Rottweilers were examined clinically and radiographically for abnormalities of their volar and plantar sesamoid bones. Lesions were found in 22 (44 per cent), invariably affecting the No. 2 and/or No. 7 sesamoids. The majority occurred in the forelimb. Clinical signs were detected in only five dogs and local analgesia in these cases indicated that the sesamoid changes were not the cause of the presenting lameness. Radiographically the defect varied from small radiodense foci separated from an otherwise normal sesamoid, to gross distortion of the bone into a number of calcified bodies. In none of these dogs was the sesamoid abnormality demonstrated to cause lameness and it was not necessary, therefore, to treat the condition surgically. It is postulated that these lesions result from disordered ossification with subsequent degenerative changes.