| Dissertation note |
The present research work was conducted to find the most effective method of internal fixation for the repair of short oblique mid-shaft metacarpal fracture in dogs. For this purpose, 12 mongrel dogs of either sex were selected and randomly divided into three groups, i.e. A, B and C, comprising four animals each. Short oblique third metacarpal fractures were created in either limb with the help of surgical saw, chisel and hammer, under general anesthesia (Pentothal sodium). In Group A, internal fixation was carried out using a miniature finger plate of size: 2.7mm. On the other hand, internal fixation in Group B was achieved by the application of a single cortical bone screw (size: 2.7mm).Group C served as the Control group and in these animals, no method of internal fixation was applied. The post-operative period was monitored by regular clinical evaluation of wound healing, lameness examination of the dogs at walk and trot, respectively, and the radiographic assessment of callus formation after every 15 days' interval. Post-mortem examination of each animal was also conducted at the end of the 12 weeks' experimental period, to check the gross lesions at the fractured site. Finally, the data thus collected was statistically analyzed using One-way Analysis of Variance. The healing of the wound was quite promising in Group A, delayed and complicated in Group B and satisfactory in Group C. Lameness subsided remarkably in Group A, so that after 12 weeks, the dogs returned to their normal gait with a fully functional limb both, at walk, as well as, at trot. However, in Group B, the dogs recovered slowly, with signs of obvious lameness even on termination of the experimental period. Similar findings were observed in the dogs belonging to Group C, which depicted the picture of marked lameness in their gait. Radiographic evaluation carried out for the three groups, showed evidence of ideal bone union with a desired amount of callus formation in Group A, which was not found in dogs of the other two groups. On post-mortem examination, gross lesions were also found to be of superior degree in the plated dogs when compared to the animals in the other groups. Besides this, statistical analysis also revealed that the technique of plating had an edge over those cases which were left untreated. Hence, on the basis of clinical picture, it was concluded that plating was the best suited method for the ideal repair of short oblique metacarpal fractures, especially in those precious breeds of dogs which are kept for athletic and hunting purposes.
|
