Femoral fracture repair in a ferret (Mustela putorius furo) / Tratamento de fratura femoral em ferret (Mustela putorius furo)

ABSTRACT

Background: Ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) are increasingly popular as pets. They require similar medical and surgical care as small animals, and orthopedic lesions are more and more common. Fracture diagnosis is based on history, orthopedic exam, and diagnostic imaging. The preferred treatment for femur fractures is surgery, which has a favorable outcome in the majority of cases. However, surgical fracture repair in ferrets can be challenging due to the small size of the bones. The objective of this paper is to report the surgical repair of a femoral fracture in a ferret using an external skeletal fixation system type IA connected to an intramedullary pin (tie-in configuration). Case An adult ferret was referred to the veterinary hospital after being stepped on. The ferret was diagnosed with an oblique diaphyseal fracture of the left femur and surgery was recommended. Open fracture reduction was performed with a 1 mm intramedullary pin (Kirschner wire) placed in a retrograde direction into the proximal bone segment. After fracture reduction, the intramedullary pin was inserted into the distal bone segment. The external skeletal fixator type IA was created by the insertion of a 1.5 mm Schanz pin into the distal diaphysis and another, also 1.5 mm, inserted into the proximal metaphysis, both percutaneously. The three pins were connected externally to an aluminum bar with the [...]