Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog's broken thigh bone healed after limb-saving surgery for cancer
By Hayes, M A et al.·Published in Australian veterinary journal·2020·Department of Surgical Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Pathologic fracture healing after femoral limb salvage in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old dog with a bone tumor experienced a painful femoral fracture that required surgery. The vet treated the fracture by removing the tumor, using a bone graft, and stabilizing it with a special plate. After the surgery, the dog regained excellent mobility and was given monthly pamidronate therapy to help with bone health. Although the dog later developed another tumor and was euthanized a year later, the fracture site showed complete healing at the time of evaluation.
People also search for: dog femoral fracture treatment · bone tumor in dogs · pamidronate for dogs · dog surgery recovery · dog limb salvage options
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Bone sarcomas are a significant cause of pain, disability, and mortality in dogs. A variety of surgical limb salvage options are available to preserve limb function with comparable prognosis to amputation. CASE REPORT: This report describes successful healing after plate fixation of an undifferentiated sarcoma pathologic femoral fracture in a dog. The fracture was treated surgically with curettage of the tumour site, placement of autogenous bone graft, and then stabilized using a locking plate rod construct. The patient regained excellent mobility after surgery and was managed with monthly pamidronate therapy. Serial radiographs demonstrate progressive healing of the pathologic fracture. Ultimately, the patient developed a maxillary fibrosarcoma and was euthanased 1 year after treatment of the femoral fracture. Postmortem histopathological evaluation of the pathologic fracture site demonstrated complete bone healing. CONCLUSION: This case highlights the possibilities of limb salvage by fracture stabilization and bone healing as a viable option in select patients.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31792933/