Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with short left foot treated by bone lengthening surgery
By Jerram, R M et al.·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·2005·Veterinary Specialist Group Hospital·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Treating pedal shortening in a dog by metatarsal distraction osteogenesis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A five-month-old male German shepherd was brought in with a deformity in his left hind leg, which had developed after wearing a cast for a previous injury. His left foot was significantly shorter than the right, and he had issues with his toes bending too far back and skin ulcers on the foot. To correct this, the veterinarian used a special device to gradually lengthen the bones in his foot over 28 days. After the treatment, follow-up visits showed that the dog's foot problems had resolved, and he was no longer limping.
People also search for: German shepherd foot deformity treatment · dog metatarsal distraction osteogenesis · puppy toe problems solution
Abstract
A five-month-old, male German shepherd dog was presented with a left hindlimb deformity. Wearing a cast for a prolonged period to treat left metatarsal fractures at eight weeks of age had resulted in physeal closure of the calcaneus, metatarsals and phalanges. Hyperextension of the phalanges and ulceration of the plantar skin proximal to the main tarsal pad were seen. The left foot was 40 mm shorter than the right. At seven months of age, a modified circular external skeletal fixator (CESF) was used to perform distraction osteogenesis of the metatarsal bones for 28 days. The CESF apparatus was removed after eight weeks when there was radiographic consolidation of regenerate bone. At follow-up evaluations four and 12 months after surgery, the phalangeal hyperextension and plantar skin ulceration had resolved. No lameness was detected.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15835238/