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Fracture
- any interruption in the cortices of a bone
- always shave and look for hole in skin
- hard to break a bone on an animal - need to make sure it was an accident
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Cortex of a bone
the outer or superficial part of an organ or bodily structure (e.g. bone)
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Open Fracture
- aka compound fracture
- the bone has pentrated the skin and been exposed to the environment
- worst kind of fracture
- not sterile
- bone may retract back in, but still considered open as skin broken and hole all the way to bone
- bacteria can get in (or probably has if bone retracted) and infect bone
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Osteomyelitis
- infection of the bone
- very painful
- fracture will not heal
- attend to wound cleaning - surgically open the wound, lavage, etc
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Closed fracture
the skin remains intact, although the bone is fractured
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Classification of bone fractures
- shaft (metaphyseal) fractures
- Greenstick
- simple
- comminuted
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Greenstick fracture
- fracture through one portion of the cortex
- no displacement of bone
- e.g. down middle of shaft or partially across, but not all the way across
- must take x-ray in the correct plane or you won't see it
- for x-rays:
- - first do AP & lateral
- - if not seeing anything, take lateral, cranial, caudal & other directions
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Simple fracture
- bone is broken through entire cortex
- forms 2 (& only 2) separate pieces
- may be transverse, oblique or spiral
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Transverse simple fracture
- straight across
- hardest to repair
- hard to get good rotational therapy
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Oblique simple fracture
slanted
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Spiral simple fracture
- occurs with rotation
- eg tibia when skiing without quick release bindings
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Comminuted fracture
- the bone is broken into multiple fragments
- large fragments are referred to as butterflies
- problematic
- - periosteum brings blood to bone
- - if pieces don't have periosteal attachment, will die w/in 10-15 days & will have painful draining necrotic abcess
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Compression fracture
occur in short bones & flat bones (in juveniles, on long bones as well)
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Fracture classification
- epiphyseal fracture
- - juvenile animals
- -- involve the growth plates - physis (weak point in bone)
- -- salter fractures - classified as 1-5
- -- not as big a deal in animals as humans (angulation in joints can compensate)
- adult animals
- - Y fractures
- - T fractures
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Bone healing
- requires:
- - stabilization of fractured bone ends
- -- multiple methods
- - sterile environment
- -- closed vs. open fracture
- - formation of callus
- -- problematic for epiphyseal fractures
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Callus
- connective tissue scaffolding to hold bone
- big problem in joint as it interferes with movement
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Causes of bone fracture
- trauma
- pathological fractures
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Fractures from Trauma
- requires significant force to fracture a bone
- rule out abuse - report it to vet -> ASCPA, animal control
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Pathological fractures
- there is a primary disease that weakens the bone
- 2 major causes:
- - cancer (neoplasia)
- - metabolic disease
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Pathological fracture - cancer
- primarily osteosarcoma
- treatment is amputation
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Metabolic disease
- primary hyperparathyroidism
- - regulates calcium & posphorus balance
- chronic renal failure (pseudohyperparathyroidism)
- improper diet
- - fresh diet done wrong
- - can be irreversible
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Clinical signs of fracture disease
- history of trauma
- - something had to happen to break the bone
- pain or localized tenderness - frequently swelling
- deformity
- - especially in through & through fractures
- loss of function
- - three legged lame
- crepitus
- - can feel bone ends moving against each other
- localized swelling or bruising
- sometimes see animals that defy explanation
- - lab w/ fractured ramus of mandible accidentally hit by baseball bat
- - happy as can be
- - adrenaline can mask much pain for ~45 min - 1 hour
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Fracture disease diagnosis
- history - trauma?
- physical exam
- - muzzle, treat gently, lots of pain
- - palpation - bones wiggle
- imaging
- - radiographs
- -- 2 views
- -- often may need to sedate as need to move leg around
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Fracture disease treatment
- requires:
- - reduction of bones ends - correct anatomical position
- - stabilization of bone ends
- - sterile environment
- -- risk of osteomyelitis
- method determined by:
- - open or closed
- - age of patient - juveniles heal fast; elderly very slowly
- - which bone is fractured
- - type of fracture
- - size of the animal
- - species - e.g. horse w/ broken leg is put down
- - how does bone normally fit together?
- - what will normally pull on it (distractive forces)?
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Osteomyelitis
inflammation of bone or bone marrow, usually due to infection
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Methods of fracture repair
- splints
- casts
- pins
- plates
- screws
- external fixators
- or combinations of these
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Splints and casts
- effective for:
- - closed fractures
- - distal extremities
- -- below stifle/elbow
- - young animal
- -- heal really quickly
- -- can change splint as they grow
- can get plastic casts in various sizes that can be trimmed to fit
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Thomas splint
- for fractures of femur & humerus
- aluminum loop hooked to greater trochanter
- tape bottom to foot
- ~10 - 12 week healing time
- low cost method to fix
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Casts
- similar to splints
- older animal
- - once stopped growing; ~6 - 18 months
- destructive animal
- - casts are fiberglass; can't chew off
- large or heavy animal
- - can't do cat or chihuahua
- - need to have a cast saw in-house to get it off
- toes showing/not - 2 schools of thought:
- - 1. encase foot
- -- pro: no bands of pressure
- -- con: can't see foot swelling if too tight
- - 2. toes exposed
- -- pro: can see swelling if too tight
- - which you use will depend on what vet prefers (can be different for each vet in a practice)
- if too tight, foot will tingle & animal will chew at foot
- owner:
- - need to keep clean/dry (vet wrap shrinks when wet)
- - observe whether animal chewing at splint/cast, need to come in as too tight
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Pins & Wires
- everything must be ultra-sterile
- intramedullary pins (steinman pins)
- - usually titanium
- - open or closed placement
- -- open placement lets you see fracture & guide pin more carefully
- -- need to be really good if closed
- - Jacobs chuck used to place it (separate surgery pack for chuck, key & extender)
- - basically a rod down the center of the bone
- simple fractures
- - transverse, oblique, spiral - only 2 pieces of bone
- - flat bones
- -- bend pin slightly; ends stick out
- -- figure 8 with wires
- wires to improve stbilization
- - cerlage - circle - passed completely around
- - hemicerlage - through bone & around
- - stainless steel suture wire
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Plates & screws
- sometimes you can't pin bones
- comminuted fractures - lots of pieces
- flat bones
- large breeds - could bend pins
- ASIF (Association suisse internal fixation)
- - developed for alpine skiers w/ spiral fracture of tibia
- - must go there for advanced training
- - need specialized equipment
- -- specialize titanium plates & screws
- -- ~$10,000 - $15,000 for sterilizable tool case with plates & screws
- -- also need compressed air & special drills to drill holes for screws & tap to drill threads
- -- then can put screws in
- -- if don't use tap, will create microfractures in the bone when put screw in
- sterility mandatory
- - stay in the body
- - never come out
- - if bone infected, must take care of that first
- no callus as no movement in the bone unlike with pins & wires/splints/casts
- muscle can get tie down between femur & quads in connective tissue
- - can also happen on humerus, but usually not
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External fixators
- sometimes can't use internal fixators - infection, open, owner $, etc
- Kirschner apparatus
- - open fractures
- - comminuted fractures
- - abnormal bone conformation
- - cost considerations
- - inability to find plates for small animal, e.g. cat
- even if a practice doen't do internal fixation, it may do this
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Pathologic fractures
- concomitant illness weakens bone leading to fractures
- - cancer (neoplasia)
- -- most common is osteosarcoma
- - metabolic disease
- -- primary hyperparathyroidis - extremely rare
- -- chronic renal failure (pseudohyperparathyroidism)
- -- improper diet - eg raw feeding w/o balancing Ca & K
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Osteosarcoma
- osteo - bone
- sarcoma - tumor arising from connective tissue
- large breed dogs - usually older
- long bones
- - radius & ulna
- - femur
- - tibia, scapula, humerus
- intermittent lameness
- pathologic fracture
- most common orthopedic tumor in kids
- highly malignant tumor - generally by the time dx, it's too late
- frequent metastasis to lungs
- doesn't occur frequently in cats
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Osteosarcoma diagnosis
- difficult to diagnose
- - owner thinks it is arthritis, until eventually, dog lands on leg, breaks it, screams
- - dx before break, exam - looks a lot like pan-o
- radiographs
- - limb
- -- by the time you find it in the bone, it has usually spread
- -- may see starburst pattern - disease destroying bone while body trying to repair causes abnormal architecture
- - lungs
- -- looking for metastasis
- -- if see them, they will be dead w/in 3 months
- definitive dx
- - biopsy = cellular understanding of disease, e.g ELISA, histopathology, biopsy)
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Osteosarcoma treatment
- can easily spend $10,000
- usually only if no obvious metastasis in chest
- amputation
- - heals ~ 2 weeks
- - humans would be disabled and/or disfigured
- - dogs don't care - happy cause they aren't in pain
- radiation
- - only after amputation
- - local only
- - don't lose fur
- - usually daily for 6 weeks
- chemotherapy
- - only after amputation
- - cis-platin (drug)
- -- toxic in cats
- -- chemotherapeutic
- -- costly
- - usually weekly
- - don't usually get vomiting
- euthanasia
- - can't repair pathological fracture
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Osteosarcoma prognosis
- grave
- die w/in 12 months of dx even with aggressive treatment
- - even with amputation and chemo
- - range 3 months to 2 uears
- - eventually start coughing & can't breath
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Hyperparathyroidism & pseudohyperparathyroidism
Ca:P must remain in balance w/in the body
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Parathyroid gland
- responsible for maintaining appropriate blood calcium levels by removing calcium from storage in bones
- produces 2 hormones that regulate blood calcium
- body manages phosphorus
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Primay hyperparathyroidism
- extremely rare
- usually tumor
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Pseudohyperparathyroidism
- occurs when there is an imbalance of Ca:P in the body due to either:
- - renal disease - kidney unable to excrete phosphorus
- - improper diet
- dairy cow pasture must be seeded with Ca rich plants
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Pseudohyperparathyroidism clinical signs
- pathological fracture
- "rubber jaw"
- - mandible decalcifies quickly
- - literally can flex mandible
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Pseudohyperparathyroidism diagnosis
- chemistry
- radiographs
- - bone looks mottled or thin, not thick (white)
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Pseudohyperparathyroidism treatment
- correct underlying disease
- - parathyroid tumor
- - renal disease - binders
- - drugs to help lay down bone again
- improve the diet
- - fat & muscle meat (table scraps) are phosphorus laden
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Osteomyelitis
- see more in cats than dogs as there are more penetrating (to bone) wounds in front legs (not necessarily fractured)
- bones lie deep in body; relatively well protected from infection
- infection of the bone
- secondary to contaminated wounds - eg bite wounds
- open fractures
- non-sterile fracture repair
- hematogenous spread
- - to bone through blood
- - eg brucellosis
- very difficult to treat
- draining tracts that don't heal
- keeps bone from healing
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Osteomyelitis clinical signs
- lameness
- swelling
- drainage (fistula)
- - probe wound w/ hematocrit - will go into bone
- fever
- - deep in body as immune system is working hard
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Osteomyelitis diagnosis
- clinical signs
- x-rays:
- - can see degradation of bone
- - culture & sensitivity to figure out exactly what's growing
- -- if it's sensitive to clindamycin than can treat as closed wound (also no sequestrum)
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Sequestrum
a piece of dead bone separated from the sound bone in necrosis.
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Osteomyelitis treatment
- debridement - open surgically
- sequestrum removal
- bone stabilization - external
- antibiotic therapy
- - clindamycin (antirobe - brand) up to 8 weeks
- -- can cause GI tract upset
- -- best bone pentration; only one that gets into bone readily
- - may need to lavage with antibiotics if clindamycin not effective
- amputation
- - may recover sooner and be more functional
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