Pony survives cannon bone fracture - new therapy saves his life
Created: 12/27/2021, 4:29 PM
From: Sina Lück
When a Shetland pony is hit by a truck, his life hangs by a thread.
The last hope: a new form of therapy.
Vila Real (Portugal) - It's a huge shock for the owner: In a traffic accident in Portugal, his seven-year-old circus pony is hit by a truck.
He immediately takes the gelding to the veterinary training clinic of the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD).
The small wound on the right hind leg initially looks harmless to the vets.
But as Landtiere.de reports, the X-ray image reveals the full extent of the impact.
The diagnosis: a complete cannon bone fracture.
Pony survives cannon bone fracture - new therapy saves his life
A few years ago that would have meant the certain death of the pony.
A lot has happened in equine surgery in the meantime.
Together with the owner, veterinarian Isabel Dias and her team decide on a completely new treatment method.
Instead of using two plates, they stabilize the fracture with just a single, 4.5 millimeter wide dynamic compression plate (DCP for short).
They fix it to the side of the bone with seven screws.
After the operation, the vets also put on a cast that is supposed to hold the bone in place.
Then the pony has to rest in a box for four weeks.
Antibiotics and pain relievers complement the therapy.
After an accident, the rear leg of the Shetland pony is provided with a plate and plastered.
© Facebook (Open Veterinary Journal)
Pony survives cannon bone fracture - bone is fully resilient again
When it comes to the final x-ray check, the vets have good news for the horse owner: after three months, his pony can finally go home.
And best of all: No damage remains from the cannon bone fracture, the bone is fully resilient again.
"As far as we know, this is the first case report in which the stabilization of a complete Mt3 diaphyseal fracture was achieved with a single compression plate," reports Isabel Dias in the "Open Veterinary Journal" magazine.
From their point of view, the new therapy is particularly suitable for “small horses with a low weight, in order to reduce costs and the risk of infection”.
For the circus pony it is now again: Curtain up and open the ring!
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