Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Bone protein and grafts used to fix dog nonunion fractures
By Lee, Seoyun & Kang, Byung-Jae·Published in In vivo (Athens, Greece)·2024·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, South Korea·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Surgical Reconstruction of Canine Nonunion Fractures Using Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2-loaded Alginate Microbeads and Bone Allografts.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 3-year-old Pomeranian was brought in for limping on her left front leg after a previous fracture repair failed to heal properly. Another 4-year-old Pomeranian had severe lameness in her left back leg due to a similar issue. Both dogs were diagnosed with nonunion fractures, meaning their bones weren't healing as they should. The veterinarians performed surgery to remove the failed implants and used a special treatment involving bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) and bone grafts to help the bones heal. After the surgery, both dogs showed significant improvement in their limping and had better bone healing on follow-up X-rays.
People also search for: Pomeranian limping after fracture · dog nonunion fracture treatment · BMP-2 for dog bone healing
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIM: Effective treatment of nonunion fractures is challenging as it requires a biological and mechanical environment to promote sufficient osteogenesis. Herein, we present a case series in which we evaluated the clinical efficacy of bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2)-loaded alginate microbeads and allografts in two dogs with nonunion fractures. CASE REPORT: A 3-year-old, 2.3-kg, spayed female Pomeranian (Case 1) presented with intermittent lameness of the left forelimb after radial and ulnar fracture repair 8 weeks prior. A 4-year-old, 4.8-kg, spayed female Pomeranian (Case 2) was referred for non-weight-bearing lameness of the left hindlimb due to implant failure following left tibial fracture repair. Both dogs had atrophic bone ends and no bridging calluses at the fracture site on radiographs, and were diagnosed with nonviable nonunion fractures of the radius/ulna and tibia, respectively. The surgical approach involved implant removal, debridement, and fracture gap reconstruction. BMP-2 was loaded into alginate microbeads for a prolonged release with bone allograft chips in both cases. In Case 1, bead grafts were applied directly at the fracture site, while in Case 2, they were implanted inside a frozen cortical bone allograft as a scaffold to fill the large gap. Postoperative radiography revealed excessive callus formation, early radiographic bone union, and cortical bone remodeling, in line with improved lameness scores. At the final follow-up, gait was improved and the desired bone length and shape were achieved in both cases. CONCLUSION: Simultaneous use of osteoinductive BMP-2 alginate microbeads and osteoconductive bone allografts yielded functionally and structurally favorable outcomes in canine nonunion fractures, without major complications.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38418118/