The team here at Kentdale came to the rescue of a cocker spaniel who required Specialist care after suffering a serious injury to his left forelimb while chasing a ball.
Six-year-old Bailey fractured his left humerus whilst exercising. X-rays performed at his local practice showed the left distal humerus was broken into three pieces at the level of the elbow joint. Due to the configuration of the fracture lines, this is commonly called a condylar Y-fracture.
Bailey’s intricate surgery to fix the fracture was carried out by our Orthopaedic Surgeon Graham Hayes, an RCVS and European specialist in Small Animal Surgery.
Toby Gemmill, Managing Director at Kentdale, said: “This can be a catastrophic injury and can be very challenging to treat. It also carries a greater chance of post-operative complications than less complex fractures.
“The surgery carried out by Graham took around three hours and was very challenging. The fracture was accurately reduced and stabilised using two bone plates and 16 screws, with an additional large screw placed across the humeral condyle.
“Bailey was soon allowed home but on strict instructions for restricted activity for the following six weeks, with only short five-minute walks on a lead four times a day.
“It was imperative there was no running off the lead, jumping up, playing with other dogs, climbing on furniture, climbing steps and jumping in the car.
“The pre-operative CT scan also showed a partial, incomplete fissure affecting the right humeral condyle. These fissures can progress to complete to fissures, can cause lameness and can predispose to fractures.
“Treatment of the fissure was recommended to reduce the risk of fracturing the humerus on this side in the future. Once it was clear that the fracture in the left leg was healing well after six weeks, surgery was performed on the right leg.
“On that occasion a 4.5mm transcondylar screw was placed across the fissure in the right humeral condyle to prevent lameness and fracture occurring. This is a relatively short procedure compared to the previous fracture repair, with a much shorter recovery period.
“Happily, Bailey has made an excellent recovery from his two surgeries and at his post operative check he was doing very well with no signs of any lameness. He is a very active spaniel and we are optimistic that he will now be able to return to his previous level of activity.”
Grateful owner Rebecca Atkinson, from Windermere, admitted it was a worrying time, however, she said Bailey had made a fabulous recovery after the specialist treatment he received from the team here.
Rebecca said: “Kentdale looked after him incredibly well. He’s just as good as before his injury! You wouldn’t know anything had been wrong.
“We cannot fault anyone at all, from the reception staff to the nurses to the vets. We give them all five stars – 100 per cent. There would have been nowhere we’d rather our boy have been treated.
Rebecca Atkinson, from Windermere, with her beloved Bailey, who has been successfully treated for a ‘catastrophic’ triple fracture at Kentdale Referrals in Milnthorpe, Cumbria.
We are one of the UK’s leading Specialist Orthopaedic, Spinal and Soft Tissue small animal referral centres.