Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with broken upper thigh bone fixed temporarily with plate
By Bae, Hojung et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2025·College of Veterinary Medicine, South Korea·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Case Report: Temporary supratrochanteric plating for the management of subtrochanteric femoral fracture in an immature dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 2-month-old puppy was brought in with a broken thigh bone (subtrochanteric femoral fracture) after an injury. The veterinarian used a special plate to hold the bone in place while it healed, and after some time, they removed the plate once they saw signs of healing on X-rays. At a follow-up appointment 21 months later, the puppy was walking normally and had no issues with its leg, although there was a slight bend in the bone. This case shows that using temporary plates can be an effective way to treat certain fractures in young dogs.
People also search for: puppy broken leg treatment · dog femoral fracture recovery · young dog leg surgery
Abstract
This case report describes the successful management of a subtrochanteric femoral fracture in a 2-month-old dog using temporary supratrochanteric plate fixation, performed prior to the development of the greater trochanter apophysis. A tibial plateau leveling osteotomy plate was applied to the proximolateral femur and subsequently removed following radiographic evidence of bridging callus formation. At the 21-month follow-up, the dog exhibited normal limb function, symmetrical femoral length, and appropriate development of the greater trochanter. Although a mild procurvatum deformity was noted, no clinical signs or range of motion deficits were observed. These findings support the use of temporary fixation across the trochanteric region as a feasible treatment strategy for immature subtrochanteric femoral fractures when performed prior to apophyseal development.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41415730/