December 2010 - Tommy Cocker
Tommy is a 6 month old, very bouncy Jack Russell terrier. He was first seen at the beginning of November after managing to wriggle out of his owner’s arms. He was very reluctant to walk and when he did, he would not use his right hind leg. He was sent home on pain relief and anti-inflammatory medication. His owners were advised to return the next day if Tommy was no better. The following day, Tommy appeared to be better.
One week later Tommy returned. He had been getting progressively better, but was lame again on his right hind leg. The vet discussed x-raying Tommy’s leg to see if it had been broken. The owners decided to try one more week on medication as he had been improving.
After another week Tommy was still lame, so it was decided to x-ray his leg. The x-rays showed a fracture of the lower femoral growth plate, just above the stifle joint.
After talking with the owner it was decided that surgery would give Tommy the best possible opportunity for his leg to heal correctly.
Early the next week Tommy was admitted for a General anaesthetic to repair the fractured leg. The fracture was located near the end of the femur at the growth plate, resulting in the end of the bone being at the wrong angle. The vet placed two metal pins into the femoral bone to correct the position of the two pieces of bone, and a supportive Robert-Jones bandage was applied. Tommy recovered really well from the operation and was sent home that evening.
Four days later the supportive bandage was removed and the following week the sutures were removed from the skin.
Tommy is under orders to have strict rest for 4 weeks to allow the bone to repair the fracture. A further x-ray will be taken in a month’s time to check that the fracture has healed in the correct position.
