Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog footpad surgery using nonweight areas to rebuild metatarsal pad
By Kim, Ji-Hyun & Yoon, Hun-Young·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2020·From the Department of Veterinary Surgery, South Korea·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Surgical Reconstruction of the Metatarsal Pad Using Nonweight-Bearing Surfaces of the Footpads in a Dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 9-year-old mixed-breed dog was brought in with severe injuries to the footpads on both back legs, leading to the amputation of one leg and the need for surgery on the other. To help the dog walk again, the vet used parts of the healthy footpads from the front legs to create new pads on the back leg. After the surgery, the dog gradually regained strength and was able to walk again. This approach showed that using specific parts of the footpads can effectively help dogs recover from serious injuries without affecting their ability to move.
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Abstract
A 9 yr old mixed-breed dog weighing 6.3 kg was presented with degloving injuries and multiple lacerations on the footpads of both hindlimbs. After amputation of the left hindlimb and debridement of the necrotic footpads on the right hindlimb, the remaining pads were insufficient for ambulation. The complete carpal pads and the peripheral, nonweight-bearing portions of the second and fifth digital pads of both forelimbs were harvested for pad grafting. All segments were sutured on the cutaneous trunci muscle in the predetermined location of the right abdominal wall for the pouch flap. After detaching the flap, the grafted segments were gradually strengthened, and the dog was able to regain ambulation. When considering pad grafting, the entire carpal pad and crescent-shaped segments from the nonweight-bearing surfaces of digital pads are excellent candidates for free grafts without compromising the ambulation of other limbs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31841379/