🔍 Key Findings
- No proximal femoral fractures occurred in any of the 184 hips with cerclage wire placement
- Cerclage wire was well tolerated, with no failures or complications related to the wire
- Application of a single cerclage wire took <10 minutes, was cost-effective, and required minimal instrumentation
- 3 postoperative complications (1 fissure, 2 fractures) occurred distal to the cerclage site, near the stem tip, requiring plate/screw fixation
- All dogs returned to normal activity, and all owners were satisfied with the outcome
- Cerclage placement location is critical—must be proximal to the lesser trochanter and close to the calcar to resist hoop strain
- Biomechanical evidence supports that cerclage wires improve resistance to hoop strain and subsidence of cementless stems
- Press-fit cementless stems may settle, but when supported by cerclage, this does not result in fractures even in undersized implants
