Information technology is non uncommon for a dog or cat to fracture its forearm. The two bones that are usually involved are the radius and ulna. Depending on the severity of the fracture, it is either splinted or surgery is performed to stabilize the bones with a bone plate.

Puppies heal well with a splint. In small brood adult dogs, due to their os beefcake and claret supply, a splint volition not work, and a plate is needed surgically for proper healing. If a splint is used there is a good chance there volition exist what is called a non-matrimony. Sometimes when this happens the leg needs amputation, and then it is best to perform the surgery and not take a chance.

This page will do a summary of each handling for a forearm fracture. These are very painful, and some dogs can go into shock. This is an emergency.

The Long Beach Creature Infirmary, staffed with emergency vets, is available until the evenings 7 days per week to assistance if your pet is having whatsoever problems, especially daze, seizures, pain, difficulty breathing, or bleeding.

Call up of us as your Long Beach Animate being Emergency Centre to help when you need us for everything from small-scale problems to major a major emergency. We serve all of Los Angeles and Orange county with our Fauna Emergency Middle Long Beach, and are easily accessible to most everyone in southern California via Pacific Declension Hwy or the 405 motorway.

If you have an emergency that can be taken care of by us at the Beast Emergency Hospital Long Beach ever phone call us showtime (562-434-9966) earlier coming.  This style our veterinarians tin can advise y'all on what to practise at home and so that our staff and doc tin prepare for your arrival. To learn more please read our Emergency Services page.

Case #1

This pup had a balmy fracture of the radius and ulna (forearm). Since young animals heal rapidly, and because the fracture was relatively stable, a special type of padded plastic splint was used to stabilize information technology. It volition stay on for 4-6 weeks.

X-Ray of fractured radius and ulna

After the pup is sedated an anchoring tape is applied to prevent the splint from sliding off.

Putting tape on to start splint

A heavy layer of cotton fiber is wrapped around the leg, and the plastic splint is placed along the bottom of the leg outside this cotton layer.

A terminal layer of tape is wrapped over the gauze. This helps keep information technology dry, adds to the stability, and identifies this as a daughter dog!

Final taping using vet wrap

Instance #2

We can trace the progress of healing on a different dog (his name is Kaiser-he is a large Doberman puppy) with a radius and ulna fracture, past taking x-rays at iii week intervals. This first 10-ray shows Kaiser'due south fracture, which he obtained past running into a table.
X-ray of fractured radius and ulna
Here is Kaiser after his splint was applied. He is hiding his face because nosotros used pink tape instead of blue (hey, that's all nosotros had at the time).
Splint on Dobie with fracture

Three weeks after the splint was practical a routine x-ray was taken to assess healing. Both the night areas and white areas at the fracture site are normal stages in the healing process.

X-ray of healing fracture

6 weeks after the fracture (and not a day besides soon for his dad), the os has non only healed, merely it has remodeled making it smoother and anatomically more correct. This bone will proceed to remodel for many months.

X-Ray of healed radius and ulna

Case #3

Surgical correction of a radius or ulna fracture frequently involves plates.  In toy and small breed dogs a splint volition not suffice. Plates are mandatory to prevent a malunion or nonunion, which could lead to amputation. It is a specialized surgery requiring special equipment and expertise, along with meticulous placement of the fractured pieces.

If you lot look at this view of Pebbles' fracture it looks like a splint could be utilized for stability.

On this view of the aforementioned basic the severity of the fracture is obvious. Surgery is needed due to the amount of displacement at the fractured edges and the fact information technology is a small brood dog.

X-Ray of fractured radius and ulna

Here is a view of the bones after a plate has been applied surgically. As y'all can see from the fractured ends, the alignment is perfect.

Another ten-ray gives you an indication of the size of the plate from the top. The amount of cotton fiber padding effectually the splint can exist visualized also.

Tope view X-ray of bone plate on radius

A splint is put on for additional support, comfort, and to prevent Pebbles from chewing at the surgical site. Pebbles volition need to clothing this splint every bit additional support until the fracture heals. This will take up to several months.

During and immediately after surgery we will requite pain medication.

We have a detailed folio on anesthesia to learn how we anesthetize a pet for surgery.

Nosotros have a page on surgery on a tibia (shinbone) using a plate.

How about a folio on a rabbit with a fractured femur?

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