Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Severe leg pain and lameness in dog after pelvic surgery
By Tong, K & Hayashi, K·Published in Veterinary and comparative orthopaedics and traumatology : V.C.O.T·2012·Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Obturator nerve impingement as a severe late complication of bilateral triple pelvic osteotomy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 4-year-old spayed female Labrador Retriever was brought in for severe limping and pain in her back legs, which had been getting worse for three months. She had trouble standing, was not eating, and seemed very lethargic. After examining her, the vet found that her muscles were wasting away and she was in a lot of pain when her legs were moved. Surgery revealed that some bone and tissue from a previous surgery were pressing on a nerve, causing her problems. The vet removed the impinging tissue, and afterward, the dog showed immediate improvement in her walking. At a follow-up two months later, she was no longer limping.
People also search for: Labrador Retriever limping after surgery · dog pelvic limb pain treatment · obturator nerve injury in dogs
Abstract
A four-year-old female spayed Labrador Retriever, which had undergone bilateral triple pelvic osteotomy (TPO) at the age of eight months, was presented with severe progressive shifting pelvic limb lameness for a duration of three months prior to presentation. The dog had multiple episodes of showing signs of excruciating pain, as well as an inability to rise or ambulate, inappetance, and lethargy. Orthopaedic examination revealed severe bilateral pelvic limb muscular atrophy, and signs of severe pain on abduction of the pelvic limbs, on rectal palpation ventrally, and on palpation of the region of the iliopsoas and pectineus muscles bilaterally. Surgery was indicated to explore the region and to release the pectineus and iliopsoas muscles. During surgery, callus tissue and the free section of pubic bone were found to be impinging on the obturator nerve at the previous TPO pubic osteotomy site bilaterally. On both sides, a 1 to 2 cm segment of pubis and fibrous callus tissue were excised and the obturator nerves were freed from the impingement. Immediately after the surgery, the patient's stance and gait were dramatically improved. The dog could maintain a much broader based stance and make longer strides with the pelvic limbs. At the two month follow-up examination, there were not any signs of lameness noted. Obturator nerve impingement can be a serious potential complication of TPO and may manifest clinically as marked pelvic limb lameness years after surgery.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21938311/