Type 1B external fixation of a metacarpal fracture in an alpaca

External skeletal fixation can be used in small ruminants as a successful, economic, alternative to internal fixation. In this case report, a type 1B frame was used on an alpaca to salvage a comminuted metacarpal fracture after failed internal fixation. Positioning the frame on the caudal aspect of the limb allowed full carpal flexion for kneeling and hence normal use of the limb throughout the recovery period. Complete healing occurred without further complications

Evaluation of closed pericardial patch grafting for management of severe pulmonic stenosis

Closed pericardial patch-grafting has been advocated for the treatment of severe pulmonic stenosis. In this study pre- and postoperative echocardiography was used to determine if the transvalvular pressure gradient was successfully lowered by this surgery and whether it remained lowered long term. The valvulotomy-ventriculectomy wire was passed using a blunt needle in four dogs (Bresnock technique1) and via a soft catheter in five dogs (Shores and Weirich modification). Eight of nine patients survived the perioperative period. These dogs were assessed up to 40 months following surgery for clinical and echocardiographic changes. Five cases showed significant decrease in peak pulmonic pressure gradient immediately after surgery (decreasing by 50–81%, P < 0.05), and six cases showed significant decrease 2 to 40 months postoperatively (decreasing by 31–80%, P < 0.005) when compared to preoperative values. There was no significant change in pulmonic pressure gradient from immediately postoperatively to 2 to 40 months postoperatively (P < 0.48). Six dogs showed clinical improvement post-operatively, however persistent right ventricular hypertrophy was observed in all cases. One dog died with symptoms of congestive heart failure 16 months postoperatively. Closed pericardial patch grafting can improve clinical signs in symptomatic patients, however the surgery has significant risks, long term prognosis for these patients is guarded and recurrence of clinical signs and development of congestive heart failure is possible. Cardiac changes can be monitored with Doppler flow echocardiography. Patients with extremely elevated preoperative pressure gradients may be expected to have poorer outcomes

Use of ultrasonography to facilitate surgical removal of non-enteric foreign bodies in 17 dogs

Plant material foreign bodies may cause vague clinical signs at the time of initial presentation but can progress to cause persistent or recurrent abscessation, sinus tract formation and debilitating disease, due to migration of the foreign body, severe tissue reaction and secondary infection. Ultrasonography is a non-invasive technique that can be used to identify precisely the presence, location and size of radiolucent foreign bodies. Early identification of foreign bodies using ultrasonography facilitates surgical retrieval before further migration and tissue injury occur. This paper reviews the ultrasonographic findings and outcome in 17 dogs with non-enteric, radiolucent, plant material foreign bodies

Evaluation of a metal acrylic repair product as a clamp for an external fixator

Mechanical testing was performed to evaluate anacrylic steel repair paste when used in the constructionof external fixators. Individual pin-bar-acrylic constructswere compared with those made from Kirschner-Eh-mer(KE) clamps or polymethylmethacrylate. The con-structswere subjected to cantilever bending forces,pin-pullout tests and cantilever bending after undergo-ingcyclical fatigue. Forty mm segments of acrylicwere significantly stronger than medium ESF clamps.Twenty-five mm segments of acrylic were of equiva-lentstrength to clamps. Ten mm segments failedunder physiological loads expected from dogs greaterthan 20 kg and were less likely to provide adequatepin coverage to protect against pin pull-put. The place-mentof a wire loop to secure the pin-bar intersectsmade application of the acrylic easier but did not alterstiffness. There was not any significant variationbetween different operators in the strength of theirconstructs nor tolerance of their constructs to pin pull-out.Cyclical loading forces were applied to acrylic-pin-barunits without significant loss of strength, andacrylic and polymethylmethacrylate units did not showany difference in stiffness after being subjected to cyc-licalfatigue. The acrylic steel repair paste is a hand-kneadable,fast setting, inexpensive and readily avail-ableacrylic for use in the construction of external fixa-tors.It allows more flexibility in frame design than aclamp and on the basis of mechanical testing offers avery stiff and secure substitute for KE clamps or poly-methylmethacrylate

Hypokalaemic paresis, hypertension, alkalosis and adrenal-dependent hyperadrenocorticism in a dog

Generalised paresis, severe hypokalaemia and kaliuresis, metabolic alkalosis and hypertension, characteristic of mineralocorticoid excess, were identified in a dog with hyperadrenocorticism due to a functional adrenocortical carcinoma. Aldosterone concentration was decreased and deoxycorticosterone concentration increased in the presence of hypokalaemia. These metabolic abnormalities resolved with resection of the carcinoma. Mineralocorticoid excess in dogs with hyperadrenocorticism is generally considered to be of little clinical significance but resulted in the acute presentation of this patient. The possible pathogenesis of mineralocorticoid excess in this case of canine hyperadrenocorticism is discussed

Accurate confidence intervals in regression analyses of non-normal data

Bootstrap, Charlier differential series, Cornish-Fisher transformation, Edgeworth expansion, Kurtosis, One-sample t , Skewness,