Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Correcting distal femur deformities in dogs with a nail-hybrid fixator
By Wendelburg, K M et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative orthopaedics and traumatology : V.C.O.T·2011·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Use of an interlocking nail-hybrid fixator construct for distal femoral deformity correction in three dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Three dogs with problems in their back legs underwent surgery to correct deformities in their thigh bones (femurs). The vets used a special device to stabilize the bones while they healed and also lengthened the femurs afterward. Although the surgery aimed to fix their leg issues, all three dogs faced complications during recovery and still showed some limping afterward. More research is needed to improve outcomes for pets with similar conditions.
People also search for: dog leg deformity surgery · dog limping after surgery · femur lengthening in dogs
Abstract
Our purpose was to report the use of an interlocking nail-hybrid external fixator construct to correct distal femoral deformities in three dogs. Radiographs, computed tomography and a three-dimensional model were used to plan the surgical procedure. A femoral osteotomy or ostectomy was performed at the level of the centre of rotation of angulation in all three dogs. Angular and rotational deformities were corrected acutely. Distraction osteogenesis was performed to lengthen each femur postoperatively. All three dogs had additional anatomic abnormalities of the affected hindlimb complicating the correction of the distal femoral deformity. While the interlocking nail-hybrid fixator construct allowed for stable distraction of the femur, all three dogs developed complications during the postoperative convalescent period, and each had some degree of residual lameness. Lengthening the femur following acute deformity correction is problematic and additional experimental and clinical studies are warranted to decrease postoperative morbidity and improve functional results.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21373717/