Table 2.
Gross Observations Scoring System.
| Feature | Score |
|---|---|
| I. Joint Observation | |
| Normal appearance | 0 |
| Slight inflammation | 1 |
| Moderate inflammation | 2 |
| Severe inflammation | 3 |
| II. Incision Appearance | |
| Normal appearance | 0 |
| Slight inflammation | 1 |
| Moderate inflammation | 2 |
| Severe inflammation | 3 |
| Slight dehiscence (incision basically intact) | 4 |
| Marked dehiscence (requires intervention) | 5 |
| Active infection | 6 |
| Healing infections | 7 |
| III. Muscle wastage at the time of necropsy in treated vs untreated limbs | |
| Circumferential measurement at the proximal aspect of the patella | (cm) |
| IV. Angle of Stifle: Change in normal angle (if any) | |
| None, within normal limits | 0 |
| Abnormal | 1 |
| V. Inflammation/Swelling | |
| None, within normal limits | 0 |
| Abnormal | 1 |
| VI. Trauma/Damage | |
| None, within normal limits | 0 |
| Abnormal | 1 |
| VII. Infection/Discharge | |
| None, within normal limits | 0 |
| Abnormal | 1 |
| VIII. Presence of Osteophytes and other Osteoarthritic Changes | |
| None, within normal limits | 0 |
| Abnormal | 1 |
| IX. Articular Surface Integrity, Contour, and Congruity | |
| Normal | 0 |
| Abnormal | 1 |
| X. Presence of Loose Bodies in Synovial Fluid | |
| None, within normal limits | 0 |
| Abnormal | 1 |
| XI. Injury to Apposing Articular Surface | |
| None, within normal limits | 0 |
| Abnormal | 1 |
| XII. Synovial Membrane Appearance | |
| Normal | 0 |
| Slight | 1 |
| Mild | 2 |
| Moderate | 3 |
| Severe | 4 |
| XIII. Cartilage Attachment | |
| This category describes on average the defect repair tissue attachment with the surrounding normal cartilage. Possible responses were: | |
| Normal Attachment | 0 |
| Moderate Attachment | 1 |
| Mild Attachment | 2 |
| Slight Attachment | 3 |
| No Attachment | 4 |
| XIV. Bone Attachment | |
| This category describes the firmness of the repair tissue attachment to the bone at the base of the defect. Possible responses were: | |
| Similar to Surrounding Cartilage | 0 |
| Slightly Soft-vs-Surrounding Cartilage | 1 |
| Mildly Soft-vs-Surrounding Cartilage | 2 |
| Moderately Soft-vs-Surrounding Cartilage | 3 |
| Marked Softening-vs-Surrounding Cartilage | 4 |
| XV. Firmness | |
| This category describes on average the firmness of the repair tissue to normal surrounding articular cartilage. Possible responses were: | |
| Similar Compared to Surrounding Cartilage | 0 |
| Slightly Soft Compared to Surrounding Cartilage | 1 |
| Mildly Soft Compared to Surrounding Cartilage | 2 |
| Moderately Soft Compared to Surrounding Cartilage | 3 |
| Marked Softening Compared to Surrounding Cartilage | 4 |
| XVI. Blood | |
| This category describes the presence or absence of hemorrhage associated with the defect area or its periphery. Possible responses were: | |
| Fresh Blood, Active Hemorrhage at Time of Surgery | 1 |
| Old Blood, No Active Hemorrhage at Time of Surgery | 2 |
| No Blood Visualized at Time of Surgery | 3 |
| XVII. Shape | |
| This category describes the margin of the defect as it relates to the original geometry at time 0 (creation). Possible responses were: | |
| No Apparent in Damage Tissue Beyond Defect | 0 |
| Degeneration in Tissue Beyond Defect | 1 |
| XVIII. Grade (Overall quality of repair) | |
| This category describes the overall subjective evaluation of the repair tissue by the evaluator. | |
| Criteria used to determine the grade were: | |
| (1) Attachment of repair tissue to the surrounding normal articular cartilage | |
| (2) Level (height) and undulation of the repair tissue surface as compared to the surrounding normal articular cartilage | |
| (3) Color of the repair tissue, where white homogenous tissue without a fibrous like appearance is used as the “gold standard.” | |
| Tissue Not Present to Grade | 0 |
| Poor | 1 |
| Fair | 2 |
| Good | 3 |
| Excellent | 4 |
| XIX. Level | |
| This category describes the level of repair tissue filling in association with the surrounding normal articular cartilage. | |
| Possible responses in relation to the surrounding normal articular cartilage were: | |
| Mildly Recessed | 1 |
| Slightly Recessed | 2 |
| Leveled | 3 |
| Slightly Elevated | 4 |
| Mildly Elevated | 5 |
| Moderately Elevated | 6 |
| XX. Color | |
| This category describes the color of the repair tissue. When repair tissue is characterized by two colors, the predominate color is indicated first. Possible responses were: | |
| Red | 1 |
| White/Red | 2 |
| Yellow | 3 |
| Yellow/White | 4 |
| White/Yellow | 5 |
| White | 6 |
| XXI. Surface | |
| This category describes the relative undulation of the repair tissue surface. Possible responses were: | |
| Non-Undulating | 1 |
| Slightly Undulating | 2 |
| Mildly Undulating | 3 |
| Moderatley Undulating | 4 |
| XXII. Area | |
| Percent of Surface Area Filled in Defect | (0–100%) |
| XXIII. Volume | |
| Percent of Volume Filled in Defect | (0–100%) |