Elastic plate osteosynthesis by long plate working length using locking compression plates as plate-rod constructs for the treatment of unstable diaphyseal femoral fractures in dogs Basha K. Mohammed Arif*, Singh Kiranjeet, Gopinathan Aswathy, Sowbharenya C., Swapna C.R., Sasikala R., Akshay, Kumar Naveen PG Scholar, Senior Scientist, Scientist and Principal Scientist, Division of Surgery, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly-243 122 (UP) *Corresponding author; E-mail: vetarif@gmail.com
Online published on 1 March, 2021. Abstract The study was conducted on 16 dogs, aged 5-18 months and weighing 9-28 kg, to evaluate the effect of long plate working length using locking plate as plate-rod construct for the repair of unstable diaphyseal femoral fractures. An intramedullary (IM) rod occupying 30-40% diameter of medullary cavity was placed first in a normograde manner, which restored the alignment of the bone fragments. Then a locking compression plate (LCP) was fixed according to the principles of bridge plating as a plate-rod construct with a plate screw ratio ranging 0.4-0.5 with two bicortical screws placed at each end as far as possible from the fracture line. Dynamization was also provided in six cases by removing the IM rod at 8-10 weeks post-fixation to promote callus formation. Out of 16 dogs, 15 dogs showed excellent lameness scores, radiographic healing and functional outcome at 14th week post-surgery, and in one case fixation failed leading to mal-union. Complete radiographic union occurred in all cases at a mean±SE time of 11.68±1.19 weeks. Use of LCP in plate-rod construct with intramedullary rod occupying 30-40% of medullary cavity was found effective to achieve bone healing of unstable diaphyseal femoral fractures in dogs. Top Keywords Dogs, Elastic plate osteosynthesis, Long plate working length, Plate-rod construct. Top |