Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cockatoo leg joint dislocation fixed with new surgery method
By McRee, Anna E et al.·Published in Journal of avian medicine and surgery·2017·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: A Novel Surgical Approach to Avian Femorotibiotarsal Luxation Repair.
- Species:
- bird
Plain-English summary
A 3-month-old male umbrella cockatoo was brought in because he couldn't put weight on his right leg and had noticeable swelling around the knee joint. X-rays showed that the joint was partially dislocated. The vet performed surgery to repair the damage, which included fixing a torn meniscus and stabilizing the joint with a special suture technique. After the surgery, the cockatoo regained the ability to use his leg for three months, allowing him to perch normally, even though the joint eventually fused. This approach can help young birds with similar injuries maintain a good quality of life.
People also search for: cockatoo leg injury treatment · bird knee joint surgery · why is my bird limping
Abstract
A 3-month-old male umbrella cockatoo (Cacatua alba) was presented because of acute non-weight-bearing lameness of the right leg. Marked soft tissue swelling was present around the femorotibiotarsal (stifle) joint, and the radiographic diagnosis was right medial femorotibiotarsal subluxation. Surgical management was elected, and the stifle joint was approached via a lateral parapatellar incision. Joint exploration revealed damage to the lateral meniscus, tendon of origin of the cranial tibial muscle, and cranial cruciate ligament. After debriding the disrupted meniscus, the stifle joint was anatomically reduced. The femorotibiotarsal joint was stabilized by using a lateral extracapsular suture in a modified technique using a self-tapping cortical screw in the lateral femoral condyle and a hole through the proximal tibiotarsus. The bird regained function of the femorotibiotarsal joint for 3 months after surgery, allowing sufficient time for the bird to establish a physiologic perching angle so that ankylosis occurred to maintain functionality of the leg as a unit. This combination of orthopedic techniques adapted from techniques commonly used in small companion-animal species may be considered to provide young birds with femorotibiotarsal luxations and subluxation a good quality of life despite ankylosis of the joint.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28644076/