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Posted By: Martin - Vet

Pet of the Year Finalist: Milo needs help with a fracture repair

Whenever you get a new puppy or kitten it is fascinating introducing them to their new home and watching as they go through a range of emotions.  Initially they may be wary and apprehensive about fully exploring their new environment.  However, as their confidence builds, it’s not long before they are tearing around the house and maybe even damaging a bit of furniture.  It was in this phase that Milo the young kitten managed to injure himself, so much so that he required several visits to the practice.

Milo was tearing around as normal when, all of a sudden, he re-appeared with the use of only three legs.  His owner thought they wouldn’t panic and would give him a moment to settle and improve.  However, when no improvement was forthcoming they were quick to get him to the practice.

Typically, it was a busy day for his owner and so Milo was dropped at the surgery for us to examine and do what was needed.  His hind leg was slightly swollen and he definitely resented it being touched. As such, after discussion with his owner, we decided it was best for Milo to be sedated and X-rayed.

X-rays revealed the cause of his pain – Milo had sustained a fracture to his ankle, and not just any fracture!  Milo had fractured his shin bone at the very bottom, through the growth plate.  This area is particularly delicate as it is responsible for the growth of the bone. As Milo was not yet fully grown it was really important that we try to realign it quickly and precisely so that, not only could his leg function normally in a pain free way, but also so that the bone could continue to grow properly.

Delaying repair of the fracture could have life-long consequences and so, as soon as we had sourced the necessary metal implants, Milo underwent his surgery.  It was a delicate and fiddly procedure in a kitten of little over 2kgs but we managed to place two fine metal pins across the fractured bone, securing it solidly whilst ensuring we didn’t damage the growth plate more than was necessary.

The post-operative X-rays showed that the fracture was well aligned and Milo’s leg was placed in a bandage to reduce any swelling to the limb. After a few days the dressing was removed and already Milo appeared much more comfortable – he clearly wanted to revert to his old ways of tearing around the house.  Consequently, we instituted a strict regime of cage rest for Milo with the aim of preventing him from harming himself again!

The plan was to remove the pins after 5-6 weeks and also to monitor his growth to ensure there were no abnormalities with his bone development.  Thankfully Milo progressed extremely well and was using the leg normally throughout his rest period – that was until the end!  When he was nearly due to have his metal pins removed he became lame once again and, as such, came back in to see us.  His leg had grown at the same rate as the other and so we were generally happy.  Even better was that his X-rays showed that the bone had healed fully.  It therefore appeared that his lameness was caused by him simply knocking his leg, resulting in bruising around the pins.  As such they were removed with him under anaesthesia and once again he went home to rest.

Milo was eager to get free and so after a few weeks of structured rest, when his owner informed us of his ever improving progress, we made the decision for him to resume normal duties – i.e. tearing around the house.  It appeared Milo was delighted with this news and was more than happy to be on the prowl once again!

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