Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Shoulder bone split fracture causing front leg lameness in young dogs
By Isaac, Ingrid et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2025·Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and Roslin Institute, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Humeral Head-Split Fracture in Two Dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Two young female dogs were brought in for limping on their front legs. One dog had been limping for two months after a fall while playing, and the other had been intermittently limping since she was just three weeks old. X-rays showed a specific type of fracture in the shoulder called a humeral head-split fracture, which is uncommon in young dogs. Both dogs were treated conservatively, and they showed reasonable improvement in their condition.
People also search for: dog limping after fall · puppy shoulder injury · humeral head fracture treatment
Abstract
Two skeletally immature female dogs were each investigated for chronic weight-bearing thoracic limb lameness. The first patient was lame for 2 months following a tumble whilst playing, and the second patient had been intermittently lame since 3 weeks of age. In both cases, radiographic examination of the shoulder revealed fissuring of the caudal humeral head consistent with an incomplete proximal humeral Salter-Harris type IV fracture with an Enoki-mushroom-like appearance of the caudal fragment, where two heads rise from a common stem. There was secondary neoarthrosis of the caudal humeral head fragment with the glenoid rim of the scapula. Humeral head-split fracture is an unusual fracture pattern that rarely occurs in skeletally immature patients, and conservative management appears to result in reasonable short-term outcomes. The role of early detection and surgical intervention remains unknown.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39760304/