Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog loses bone implant after limb-sparing surgery for radial tumor
By Venzin, C et al.·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·2012·Clinic of Small Animal Surgery·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Loss of implant-bone interface following distal radial locking-plate endoprosthesis limb-sparing surgery in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
An eight-year-old female Rottweiler was brought in for lameness that had lasted a week. X-rays showed a bone tumor in her lower leg, leading to limb-sparing surgery where a special implant was used. Although she initially did well, her lameness worsened four months later due to significant bone loss around the implant, which ultimately failed. Sadly, the owner chose not to pursue further treatment, and the dog was euthanized. This case highlights that even advanced surgical techniques may not prevent implant failure in dogs with bone tumors.
People also search for: dog lameness after surgery · Rottweiler bone tumor treatment · dog limb-sparing surgery outcome
Abstract
An eight-year-old, neutered female Rottweiler was presented with lameness of seven days duration. Radiographs were consistent with a distal radial bone tumour. Limb-sparing surgery was performed using a commercially available endoprosthesis with a locking bone plate. Histopathological examination of the resected bone revealed an intraosseous fibrosarcoma, and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy was initiated three weeks after surgery. Despite initial satisfactory limb function, lameness worsened four months after surgery. Radiographs revealed large areas of bone lysis around the proximal and distal screws, leading to significant resorption of the radius and radial carpal bone with subsequent construct failure. Further treatment was declined by the owner and the dog was subsequently euthanased. This case illustrates that implant failure is not necessarily averted by the use of locking (compared with non-locking) implants combined with an endoprosthesis to treat distal radial tumours in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22098022/