SIGNALMENT:

2-year-old male Border Collie.

HISTORY:

Stepped on by a horse sustaining an open wound on the left front antebrachium. Non-weight bearing on the limb.

DIAGNOSIS:

Radiographs taken by the referring veterinarian showed a transverse fracture of the distal 1/4th of the left radius and ulna (Figure 1). The limb was placed in a coaptation bandage with a sterile wound dressing applied and referred for surgery the next day.
 
 

Figure 1

Preoperative radiograph obtained by the referring veterinarian showing the distal fracture of the left radius and ulna.

Figure 2

Postoperative radiograph showing
the modified type II external fixator applied to the radius. Good fracture reduction has been achieved and the fixator configuration applied provides good stability for this fracture. Note
that the #2 pin (from the proximal aspect) is a smaller diameter pin placed through a Securos clamp designed to accept different diameter pins.

The fixation method chosen in this dog was an external skeletal fixation device (Figure 2). An alternative treatment would have been bone plate application, but with an open wound, it was felt to be more desirable to avoid placing an implant within the wound site.
 
 

ACKNOWLEDGMENT:

Thank you to Dr. Bryan Spriggs, Owasso Veterinary Hospital, for this case referral.
 
 

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