Treatment of fractures of the tibial and/or fibular malleoli in 30 cats.

Five cats were treated for a fracture of the medial malleolus, 10 for a fracture of the lateral malleolus and 15 for fractures of both malleoli. Open reduction and internal fixation with Kirschner wires (K-wires) with or without a tension band wire was applied to 26 of the fractures. Unilateral-uniplanar or bilateral-uniplanar transarticular external skeletal fixators were applied to provide coaptation in 19 cases and appeared to be well tolerated. In 24 cases fracture healing was assessed radiographically between four and eight weeks after treatment. In seven cases fracture healing was good, in 12 cases it was reasonable, in four cases it was poor and in one case with two fractures healing was poor in one and reasonable in the other. The 12 fractures treated by open reduction and internal fixation with K-wires and a tension band wire all showed evidence of good or reasonable healing. The nine fractures treated by open reduction and internal fixation with K-wires without a tension band wire showed evidence of good or reasonable healing in six cases and poor healing in three cases. Complications occurred in nine of the cats and included persistent talocrural instability, soft tissue necrosis, implant migration and external fixator pin breakage. Twenty-one of the cats were followed up by telephone questionnaire for between 5.5 and 84 months; the owner satisfaction was excellent in 17 cases, good in two cases, moderate in one case and poor in one case.

Variation in position of the medial fabella in West Highland white terriers and other dogs.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether West Highland white terriers exhibit significant variation in the position of the medial fabella compared to both small and large breed dogs. METHODS: Criteria for the normal location of the medial fabella on a caudocranial radiograph were established. A retrospective analysis was undertaken of a consecutive series of bilateral caudocranial stifle joint radiographs from 70 West Highland white terriers, 100 small and 100 large control dogs by three reviewers. Medial fabellar location, cruciate ligament disease and medial patellar luxation were examined within and between groups. RESULTS: Abnormal medial fabellar location was identified in 70 per cent, 9 per cent and 0 per cent of West Highland white terriers, small dogs and large dogs, respectively. In the vast majority of the affected dogs, the fabella was found in a mediodistal location. Presence of concurrent cranial cruciate ligament disease or medial patellar luxation and body weight was excluded as confounding factors. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: West Highland white terriers appear predisposed to, and have a high prevalence of, an abnormal mediodistal location of the medial fabella. The authors suggest this is an incidental finding and should not be confused with true pathological fabellar displacement.

Cauda equina syndrome treated by lumbosacral stabilisation in a cat.

In this case report, a case of cauda equina syndrome arising from lumbosacral disease in an eight-year-old Burmese cat is described. The cat had a history of chronic right pelvic limb lameness. Neurological evaluation was consistent with a lesion involving the cauda equina. Radiographic findings were consistent with a diagnosis of lumbosacral disease. Due to perceived dorsoventral lumbosacral instability, dorsal decompression and stabilisation of the lumbosacral junction was performed. An original method of spinal stabilisation for this indication is described. The cat had a successful long-term outcome with complete resolution of its presenting clinical signs.

Hemiurothorax following diaphragmatic hernia and kidney prolapse in a cat.

A 3-year-old cat was presented with increasing dyspnoea over the past four days. Unilateral pleural effusion was diagnosed and a modified transudate was drained several times. Surgical exploration revealed intra-thoracic prolapse of the left kidney and partial herniation of the spleen through a dorsal, circumferential diaphragmatic tear. Biochemical analysis of the pleural fluid confirmed urothorax. Due to excessive fibrin deposit on the well-vascularised kidney it was impossible to re-establish left urinary pathways. Left-sided nephrectomy and diaphragmatic herniorrhaphy were performed. Postoperative recovery was uneventful and complete. This is the first report of an urothorax in veterinary medical literature.

Radiographic features of a lateral extracapsular wire suture in the canine cranial cruciate deficient stifle.

Radiographs of 74 dogs (84 stifles) presented with a cranial cruciate ligament rupture and surgically treated using a lateral extracapsular wire (LEW) were reviewed. A strand of orthopaedic wire was surgically placed caudally around the lateral fabella and through a predrilled hole in the tibial crest. At six week follow-up, the LEW was broken at least once in 26 of 33 stifles, predominantly in the area of the lateral fabella. In five stifles, the LEW had slipped off the fabella and was displaced distally along the gastrocnemius muscle. Six months after surgery, the LEW was often broken at several sites. LEW migration was rare. Osteolysis and sclerosis at the site of LEW penetration through the tibial crest occurred in about two-thirds of the stifles examined.

Osteodystrophia fibrosa in two guinea pigs.

Two adult guinea pigs were examined because they were lethargic and reluctant to walk. Additionally, I guinea pig had otitis media, and the other had dental malocclusion. Both guinea pigs had been fed a commercially available diet of cereals and pellets enriched with vitamin C and formulated for this species. Radiographically, the guinea pigs had coarse trabecular bone patterns, skeletal deformations, pathologic fractures, and polyarthritic degenerative joint disease. A double cortical line was also evident on several long bones, the pelvis, and the vertebrae. A diagnosis of osteopenia was confirmed by use of dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Analysis of a food sample fed to 1 guinea pig revealed calcium and phosphorus contents of 0.524 and 0.425%, respectively (Ca:P ratio, 1.23:1). Microscopic examination of bone tissue from both guinea pigs revealed severe fibrous osteodystrophy. Nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism caused by calcium-phosphorus imbalance was considered to be the underlying cause of osteodystrophia fibrosa in both guinea pigs.

Fatal pulmonary fat embolism during humeral fracture repair in a cat.

An 11-month-old cat was referred following a road traffic accident with non-weightbearing forelimb lameness and tachypnoea. A diaphragmatic rupture was repaired two days after trauma. Six days post trauma, a further operation was performed to repair the fractured humerus. As an intramedullary pin was advanced into the bone to achieve stabilisation, acute respiratory arrest occurred. Manual extrathoracic cardiopulmonary resuscitation was immediately instigated, but the cat did not recover. Postmortem examination identified a high degree of embolic fat occluding pulmonary capillaries. A massive embolic shower was established as the cause of death.

Osteopenia and other radiographic signs in canine hyperadrenocorticism.

The specificity of conventional radiography in assessing canine hyperadrenocorticism was evaluated by comparing the Incidence of related radiographic findings in 24 hyperadrenocorticoid, 15 diabetic and 20 hypothyroid dogs. Hyperadrenocorticoid dogs showed significantly more perihilar bronchial mineralisation than other groups. There was no significant variation between the disease groups with respect to obesity, hepatomegaly, contour of the caudoventral hepatic margin, peripheral bronchial mineralisation or osteopenia. Adrenal mineralisation and calcinosis cutis were rare findings observed only in hyperadrenocorticoid dogs. The effect of obesity on the radiographic appearance of bone was studied using a dissected lumbar spine from a canine cadaver. An osteopenic effect could be demonstrated by superimposition of a 10 cm-thick fat block. The low specificity of almost all common signs in canine hyperadrenocorticism and the low incidence of characteristic findings demonstrate the limited potential of radiography in assessing this condition. Radiographic assessment of bone density is unreliable because of artefactual osteopenic effects of high kVp settings necessary in obese dogs.