Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with twisted back feet fixed by circular external frames
By Nelligan, M R et al.·Published in Australian veterinary journal·2007·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Bilateral correction of metatarsal rotation in a dog using circular external skeletal fixation.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
An 8-month-old male Saint Bernard was brought in for limping on both back legs. The vet found that the dog had problems with the rotation of the bones in his hind feet. To fix this, the vet performed surgery using special devices called circular external skeletal fixators to correct the bone alignment. After a few months, the fixators were removed, and twenty months later, the dog was reported to be walking well without any limping. This case shows that surgery can effectively improve mobility in dogs with metatarsal rotation issues.
People also search for: Saint Bernard limping · dog metatarsal rotation surgery · dog hind leg lameness treatment
Abstract
An 8-month-old castrated male Saint Bernard was evaluated for bilateral hind limb lameness. Lameness was ascribed to bilateral metatarsal rotational abnormalities on the basis of the physical examination and radiographic evaluations. Staged, bilateral deformity correction and tarsometatarsal arthrodeses were performed using circular external skeletal fixators. The dog's gait improved following surgery and the fixators were removed 3 (left hind paw) and 4 (right hind paw) months following surgery. Twenty months after the initial surgery, the owner reported that the dog was walking well without apparent lameness. Previous reports suggest that metatarsal rotation is untreatable; however, our results suggest that surgical correction of this deformity can substantially improve limb function in dogs affected with metatarsal rotation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17685982/