Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Distraction osteogenesis to treat premature distal radial growth plate closure in a dog.
- Journal:
- Australian veterinary journal
- Year:
- 2000
- Authors:
- Preston, C A
- Affiliation:
- Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences · United States
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 4-month-old Labrador was brought in because it was limping and had pain in its elbow. X-rays showed that part of its forelimb was growing unevenly, which was causing the bones in the elbow to be misaligned. To fix this, the veterinarians used a special device to gradually stretch the bone over time, making it longer than usual. After about 69 days, the bone had healed enough for the device to be removed. A year later, the dog still showed some mild limping after exercise and had a little bit of arthritis in the elbow, but overall, the treatment was successful.
Abstract
A 4-month-old Labrador was presented for forelimb lameness and elbow pain. Radiography revealed asymmetric premature closure of the distal radial physis resulting in humeroradial and humero-ulnar subluxation. A four-ring circular external fixator applied to the antebrachium was used to perform distraction osteogenesis. After a 4 day latency period, varying rates of linear distraction were used to lengthen the radius by 50% of its original length, which is significantly longer than has been previously reported. By 69 days after performing the radial osteotomy, the distraction callus had achieved clinical union and the fixator was removed. One year postoperatively, mild lameness was present after exercise and minimal elbow osteo-arthritis was evident radiographically. Complications observed included pin tract drainage, transient carpal contracture and radio-ulnar synostosis.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10920776/