Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with broken leg and ankle surgery using bone callus graft
By Tian, Gracia & Tuan, Jayson·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2025·Department of Surgery·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Use of bone callus as a source of bone graft for concurrent tibial malunion repair and contralateral pantarsal arthrodesis in a domestic shorthair cat-a case report.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 1-year-old domestic shorthair cat was brought in with injuries to both back legs after an unknown trauma. X-rays showed that the left leg had a malunion (improper healing) of the tibia, and the right leg had complex joint injuries. The vet used a special technique to take bone graft from the healing tissue (callus) around the left leg's fracture to help fix both legs. Three months after surgery, the cat showed significant improvement in leg alignment and movement.
People also search for: cat leg injury treatment · cat tibial malunion repair · cat bone graft surgery
Abstract
A domestic shorthair cat, estimated 1 year old, was presented from a local rescue with traumatic injuries of unknown cause to both pelvic limbs. Radiographs revealed a left tibial malunion with marked callus formation and complex right tarsocrural joint injuries. A modified chipping technique was used to provide a source of autogenous bone graft from the callus for both the malunion correction and the contralateral pantarsal arthrodesis. Post-operative radiographs showed significant improvement in the left tibial alignment and adequate arthrodesis of the right tarsal joints. There was good functional outcome at 3 months post-operatively. This case report highlights the potential of bone callus to be used as a bone graft, presenting a unique technique to avoid donor site morbidity associated with traditional autogenous bone grafts. The modified chipping technique can also be employed in malunion revision surgeries to effectively correct resultant angular deformities while preserving the fracture haematoma. To the authors' knowledge these have not been reported in the veterinary literature.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41550536/