{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T04:53:52Z","timestamp":1791262432420,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791244800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Vet. Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To compare radiographic osteotomy healing scores after tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) in young (2\u20135\u202fyears) and old (8\u201312\u202fyears) dogs using the modified Radiographic Union Score for Tibial fractures (mRUST) system, and to evaluate agreement between large language model-assisted interpretation (LLM), surgeon, and surgical resident scoring.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Study design<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Client-owned, 20\u201340\u202fkg dogs treated with unilateral TPLO at ages 2\u20135 or 8\u201312\u202fyears between 2023 and 2025 were retrospectively identified. Dogs with endocrinopathy or atypical TPLO or recovery were excluded. Dogs were assigned to Group 1 (2\u20135\u202fyears) or Group 2 (8\u201312\u202fyears). 8-week postoperative radiographs were scored independently by an LLM, a surgeon, and a surgical resident using the 4-point mRUST system. Scores were compared between age groups using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test, and interrater agreement was assessed using an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Group 1 had 49 dogs; Group 2 had 51 dogs. Group 1 had a mean (SD) age of 3.82 (1.11) years, while Group 2 had a mean (SD) age of 9.24 (0.99) years. mRUST scores did not differ between age groups across LLM (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.352), surgeon (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.908), or resident assessments (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.588). LLM, surgeon, and resident scores had only fair agreement (ICC\u202f=\u202f0.4504,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Chronological age was not associated with mRUST score following TPLO at the 8-week postoperative evaluation. The mRUST system demonstrated moderate agreement between human observers. LLM scoring showed promise; further refinement is needed for clinical application.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2026.1934451","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T04:25:24Z","timestamp":1791260724000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Assessment of radiographic healing after tibial plateau leveling osteotomy in young and older dogs using the modified RUST scoring system"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Bridget L.","family":"Anderson","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"BluePearl Pet Hospital","place":["Levittown, PA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Steven W.","family":"Frederick","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"BluePearl Science","place":["Tampa, FL, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Catherine","family":"Popovitch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"BluePearl Pet Hospital","place":["Levittown, PA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"586","DOI":"10.2460\/javma.253.5.586","article-title":"Results of a survey of veterinary orthopedic society members on the preferred method for treating cranial cruciate ligament rupture in dogs weighing more than 15 kilograms (33 pounds)","volume":"253","author":"von Pfeil","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Am Vet Med Assoc"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"777","DOI":"10.1016\/s0195-5616(93)50082-7","article-title":"Tibial plateau leveling osteotomy for cranial cruciate ligament rupture: rationale and 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