Rocky falls from his tower Also appears in Spring 2008 Newsletter
submitted by Dr Amy Furtado
Lateral view bilateral fractures
Rocky, an 8 month old Domestic Short Hair presented to our hospital for dragging his pelvic limbs.The following is a summary Rocky’s history, care and treatment.
The clients reported that they heard a loud sound followed by vocalizing and then Rocky ran behind the couch dragging his pelvic limbs and crying.They assumed he either fell off or jumped off the cat tower.Rocky was adopted from Sacramento Animal Control downtown as a young kitten after he and his littermate were found in a bag.He is an indoor only cat and is current on his vaccines.He had never had any medical problems.
The abnormalities found on Rocky’s physical exam included mild gingivitis, mild obesity, and both pelvic limbs had crepitus (palpable grinding or “crackling”) and were lax at the distal tibia (just above the ankle/hock).He was able to move both pelvic limbs but was unable to walk and dragged them behind him.
The first thing we recommended was analgesia (pain medication) and radiographs, which the client approved.His radiographs showed bilateral fractures of his distal tibias and fibulas with moderate displacement.A radiologist reviewed his radiographs and concurred with the assessment.
Cats, especially kittens, usually heal fractured bones very well.If he had only broken one leg, he may have healed just fine with external coaptation (a cast).However, because he fractured both of his pelvic limbs, he would not be able to walk if they were both placed in a cast.Also, given how displaced the bones were, it was very likely that the bones could be distracted and properly placed but a high likelihood that the bones would become displaced again due to the tendons applying tension on the bones.Due to the complicating factors (both limbs fractured and moderate displacement), the recommendation was to take him to surgery and have tiny plates placed.The clients authorized this procedure.
Rocky had Robert Jones bandages placed to keep his bones as stable as possible and keep him comfortable.He was prepared for surgery the following day.He had preanesthetic blood work conducted to allow a tailored approach to anesthesia.His bloodwork was normal aside from a mild hyperglycemia (high blood glucose), which is commonly seen in stressed, sick or painful cats.He was given pain medication (a morphine derivative) all night long and then placed on intravenous fluids the next day and during surgery.
Anesthesia and Surgery: Patient anesthetized using a balanced anesthesia and his monitoring included:heart rate and ECG, blood pressure, pulse oximetry, ETCO2, respiratory rate and wave form, body temperature.A board certified surgeon conducted the surgery without complications and Rocky was up and walking the next day.
Rocky was sent home on two different kinds of oral pain medication and an antibiotic.He had soft wraps placed post operatively that were removed before he was discharged.He had skin staples that were placed during surgery that needed to be removed 10 days post operatively.Rocky needed 8 weeks of exercise restriction – no running, jumping, or climbing. Rocky returned about 5 days post operative with very swollen limbs and limping.He had been very active the two days prior.Exercise restriction was reiterated and Rocky went home and recovered well.Ten days post operatively, Rocky returned for staple removal.His limbs were not swollen, he was comfortable and walking well.
Rocky after surgery
Atlantic Street Veterinary Hospital Pet Emergency Center 1100 Atlantic Street Roseville, Ca 95678
