Surgical repair of severe flipper lacerations in a loggerhead, Caretta caretta, and a Kemp's ridley, Lepidochelys kempii, sea turtle.

A loggerhead, Caretta caretta, and a Kemp's ridley, Lepidochelys kempii, sea turtle were presented to the North Carolina State University, College of Veterinary Medicine for evaluation of distal flipper injuries. The goal for both animals at presentation was to preserve limb function and avoid complete amputation. A severe full-thickness flipper laceration was successfully reapposed in the first case, and a rotational flap was used to cover exposed tissue in the second case. Limb function was improved and complete amputations were avoided in both turtles.

Internal fixation of a femur fracture in an American bullfrog.

CASE DESCRIPTION: An adult male American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) was evaluated by the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine's Turtle Rescue Team following vehicular trauma. CLINICAL FINDINGS: A fracture of the left femur was suspected on examination and palpation of the hind limbs, but no other injuries or abnormalities were detected. While the bullfrog was sedated, whole-body radiographic views were obtained, which revealed a closed midshaft comminuted fracture of the left femur. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: The fracture was repaired by use of an internal fixation technique that included Kirschner wires, a positive-profile pin secured along the femur with encircling sutures, and polymethylmethacrylate molded around the entire apparatus. There were no major complications during the postoperative rehabilitation period. One year after surgery, radiography revealed complete fracture healing and the bullfrog was released back into the wild. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Presently, there are no widely accepted methods for fracture fixation in amphibians. Factors associated with their aquatic environment and lengthy fracture healing time must be addressed when planning fracture fixation strategies. In the bullfrog of this report, the applied internal fixation method provided effective long-term stabilization of the femur, allowed for normal movement, and enabled the bullfrog to be housed in an aquatic environment immediately after surgery.

Biomechanical comparison of dual interlocking single loop and double loop tension band techniques to the classic AO tension band technique for repair of olecranon osteotomies in dogs.

OBJECTIVE: To compare olecranon fragment stability between the classic tension band wire (TBW) technique with the wire placed either in contact with (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen [AO]), or not in contact with, a Kirschner (K)-wire (AOW) to 2 novel wire patterns: a dual interlocking single loop (DISL) and a double loop (DL). STUDY DESIGN: Ex vivo mechanical evaluation on cadaveric bones. SAMPLE POPULATION: Canine ulnae (n=40) with olecranon osteotomies repaired with 2 K-wires and 1 of 4 TBW constructs. METHODS: Single load to failure applied through the triceps tendon. Displacement was measured from images captured from digital video. Techniques were compared based on the load resisted when the olecranon fragment was displaced 0.5, 1, and 2 mm. RESULTS: At 0.5 mm of displacement, the DISL construct resisted more load than the AOW construct (505 versus 350 N; P=.05). AO and DL constructs resisted an intermediate load (345 and 330 N, respectively). There was no significant difference between groups at 1 mm of displacement. At 2 mm of displacement, DL (785 N) resisted more load than AO (522 N, P=.01) and AOW (492 N, P=.03) groups. CONCLUSIONS: DISL constructs provided similar stability to classic TBW constructs whereas DL constructs were more stable at higher loads. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The DL construct is easy to perform, less bulky, and provides comparable fragment stability to standard TBW techniques at functional loads. Surgical method is important for optimal performance of all TBW constructs.