Here are two of our recent cases, a comminuted tibial fracture in a dog and a comminuted humeral fracture in a cat, with 10 and 14 week post op radiographs respectively.

Case 3

The second case shows 14 week post op radiographs for our third clinical case, which was a grade 1 open, transverse, non reconstructable fracture of the left mid humeral diaphysis in a 3 year old MN cat. The cat is not confined at home, and is able to run, jump, play and groom itself without medication, pain or lameness appreciated as you can see in the video below. Excellent range of motion of the shoulder and elbow have been maintained.

Radiographs obtained show complete union of the fracture with stable implants and an unchanged IMPeek rod. There is no evidence of infection or implant complications, and the client, cat and surgeon are extremely happy with the outcome!

Case 4 update.

This case is a 10 year old male neutered dog, suffered a closed, mid diaphyseal, comminuted fracture of the left tibia approximately 14 weeks ago, but only recently we were sent the 10 week post op radiographs. The dog is reportedly persistently weight bearing, but a mild lameness persists. 

There is no evidence of infection and the client thinks the dog is continuously improving with each passing week. 10 week post op radiographs (above) were obtained at the primary care veterinarian. The quality is not as good I as would like, but there appears to be some attempts at bridging across the comminuted fracture, but I would ideally prefer more bone activity this far post op. The implants are stable and the IMPeek rod remains intact and unchanged from the immediate post-op radiographs. Given the biological damage at the time of fracture and the age of this patient, in hindsight grafting with cancellous bone would have been prudent, but at the time I attempted a biological approach to the stabilization in order to avoid adding additional morbidity. The delay in union is also possibly due to the stiffness of the construct, as the screws interlock with the IMPeek rod, but this is considered less of a contributing factor than the need for bone grafting. At this point in time, I have recommended repeat radiographs in another 4 weeks. Pending those results we will then consider bone grafting to help stimulate additional bone healing if required.