In selecting David DeYoung, DVM, Diplomate, ACVS, for the ACVS Foundation Legends Award, Dr. DeYoung is recognized for having developed a surgical or diagnostic procedure of significant value, proven by becoming the test or treatment of choice for a given condition. Dr. DeYoung’s impact on canine total hip replacement has been transformative and long-lasting.
While at North Carolina State University in the 1980s and 1990s, Dr. DeYoung created and studied the clinical performance of the Canine Porous Coated Anatomic system (or canine PCA system), a transformative surgery that has revolutionized total joint replacement in dogs.
Dr. DeYoung assembled a diverse research group that included medical doctors with experience in orthopedic surgery and radiology, engineers, veterinarians, and a dedicated team of technicians. Dr. DeYoung was a devoted mentor to several surgery residents and young researchers. The PCA system was revolutionary because the long-term fixation of its cementless stem and cup relied on bone ingrowth into small metal beads, a novel concept at the time. The components’ organic geometry and the precise instrumentation and surgical technique were also key to the procedure’s success. The long-term performance of the system, evaluated in a large five-year prospective clinical trial, was incredibly successful: all stems and cups evaluated in the long term remained stable and osseointegrated.
Dr. DeYoung developed and published seminal work on the radiographic criteria used to evaluate the response to total joint replacement in dogs, and he published several well-designed canine total hip replacement studies whose findings still influence canine total hip replacement. Dr. DeYoung has also been a key player for the successful evolution of the PCA system into current forms of cementless total hip components.
“Dr. DeYoung’s innovative research and leadership in the area of canine cementless hip replacement established the pathway for the advancements that we witness in this procedure today. Hundreds of veterinary surgeons and thousands of patients have benefited from Dr. DeYoung’s career efforts.”
—Teresa Schiller, DVM, Diplomate, ACVS