Ibrahim, Rashid

Mohamad Yusof, Loqman

Universiti Putra Malaysia Institutional Repository

Agricultural SciencesA Review of Orthopaedic Surgery in Cats and Dogs Performed in the UniversityVeterinary Hospital (UVH-UPM) for over 3 Years (1994-1997)R. Ibrahim and M.Y. LoqmanFacultyof VeterinaryMedicineUniversitiPutraMalaysia43400 UPM,Serdang,SelangorMalaysiaE-mailofCorrespondingAuthor:rashid@vet.upm.edu.myKey words: orthopedics, bones, joint, diseases, cats, dogs.IntroductionBackground: Orthopedics is a branchof surgery dealing with the preserva-tion and restoration of the function ofthe skeletal system, its articulations andassociated structures (Blood et al. andStuddert, 1988). Most orthopedicproblems are not typically life threat-ening, but their treatment is importantas the skeletal system support the nor-mal functions of many other organs,and helps to avoid any secondaryproblems. A general view of the com-mon orthopedic problems that occur incats and dogs would provide clues tobetter techniques and understanding ofsurgical management of orthopedicproblems.Objectives/Purpose of the work: Theobjectives of the work included:To get an overview of the surgicalmanagement of orthopedic problems incats and dogs,To understand the dynamics of usingvarious types of fixation hardware intreatment of various bone and jointdiseases, and to analyses the follow-upassessment of the techniques used, andTo identify the complications duringthe course of treatment of bone andjoint diseases.Materials and MethodsThe study was conducted at UVH-UPM for the period from January 1994to December 1996. The front officeregistration book, small animal surgeryrecord book, and the radiology recordswere used to identify orthopedic casesseen in the Hospital and treated surgi-cally. The orthopedic cases were clas-sified to the various body regions fromhead to tail viz. Head, forelimbs andjoints, hind limbs and joints, spine,pelvis, and tail. The causes of theproblems, the method of diagnosis,treatment, follow-up and complicationsif any were recorded (Denny et al.,1993, Ibrahim et al., 1993.Results and DiscussionNearly 40% of all surgical cases in catsand dogs presented to the Hospitalwere orthopedic cases, of which morethan 90% were due to traumatic causes.Cats made up 47% of the orthopediccases and 53% were dogs. Higherpercentages involved were adult ani-mals (>12 months old, 60%) and intactmales (56%). The most commonproblems involved the hind limbs(54%), folIowed by the pelvis (17%),forelimbs (10%), spine (6%) and head(6%). Various causes of the problemswere tabulated from which it was seenthat more than 90% were due to trau-matic injuries. Road traffic accidentshowed the highest percentage (27%).The cases caused by diseases (4%) andcongenital defects (2%) were also re-corded. The treatments used wereexternal fixation (2%), internal fixation(45%), re-constructive surgery (39%)and spinal decompress surgery (4%).A cheaper and easier bone fixationtechnique using plumber's paste as amodified Kirschner-Ehmer fixationdevice was successfully tested and itwas useful and efficient in fracturerepair (Ibrahim et al., 1999a). A modi-fied Denny's et al. technique of elbowrepair had also been successfully triedin dogs (Denny et al., 1993; Ibrahim etal., 1999b). Fracture and joint repairsat each anatomical region mentionedbefore had been tabulated for easyreference. Co-existing problems in-volved organs or tissues adjacent to thesite of orthopedic injury. The follow-up study had identified complicationsin the use of fixation devices and post-operative procedure inadequacies (Eg-ger et al., 1991; Mavin et al., 1991).ConclusionsThe study of bone and joint diseases incats and dogs tend to focus on thephysical nature of the injury and theirmanagement, as well as any complica-tions. This study showed that most ofthe orthopedic problems in cats anddogs occur at the hindquarters, mostlyinvolving the hind limbs and the pelvis.Fractures in the forelimbs were lesscommon, except the fore limb fracturein dogs and mandibular symphysisfracture in cats. Immediate attentionwas necessary when orthopedic prob-lems caused trauma to vital organs atthe related sites such as lungs, liver andorgans of the urinary system. Modifiedtechniques had been successfully em-ployed in managing bone and jointrepairs.Benefits from the studyThis study benefits the pet and owneras well as the surgeon and providesstudent with skills in orthopaedic man-agement.It increases competence in clinical andradiographic diagnoses of bone andjoint diseases in cats and dogs in thetraining of post-graduates students(Loqman et al., 1997).A cheaper and easier bone fixationtechnique using plumber's paste as amodified Kirschner-Ehmer fixationdevice had been successfully tested andproved useful and efficient in fracturerepair. A modified Denny's et al. tech-nique of elbow repair had been suc-cessfully tried in dogs (Ibrahim et al.,1999a,b).Orthopedic skill of the surgeon hadbeen greatly enhanced by completing"An Advanced Orthopedic Workshop(Synthesis)" in Sydney Australia, forfuture training of post-graduates stu-dents.117UPM Research Report 1997-2000, Section 2-Extended AbstractsLiterature cited in the textBlood. D.C. and Studdert, V.P. 1988.Bailliere's Comprehensive VeterinaryDictionary. London. Bailliere TindallW.B. Saunders.Denny. H.R. 1993. "A Guide to Canine andFeline Orthopedic Surgery. 3,dEd."Blackwell Scientific Publication, London.Egger, E.L. 1991. Complication of ExternalFixation. In: Olmstead, M.L. (Ed.), TheVet Clinics of North America, SmallAnimal Practice. 21(4): 705-732.Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders Co.118Ibrahim, R. 1993. "Cervical spondylopathyin dogs." PhD Thesis, Univ. of Bristol.Ibrahim, R. I999a. "A modified Kirschner-Ehmer fixation device using plumber'spaste." (In preparation).Ibrahim, R. 1999b. "A modified Denny'stechnique of elbow repair." (Inpreparation).Loqman, M.Y. 1997. A review of smallanimal orthopedic surgery performed inthe University Veterinary Hospital UPMover 3 years (1994-1997). M.V.M.Thesis, Univ. Putra Malaysia.Mavin, L.O. 1991. Complication: AnOverview. In: Olmstead, M.L. (Ed.), TheVet Clinics of North America. SmallAnimal Practice. 21(4): 641-645.Philadelphia. W.B. Saunders Co.Project Publications inRefereed JournalsNone.Project Publications inConference ProceedingNone.Graduate ResearchNone.

A review of orthopaedic surgery in cats and dogs performed in the University Veterinary Hospital (UVH-UPM) for over 3 years (1994-1997)

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A review of orthopaedic surgery in cats and dogs performed in the University Veterinary Hospital (UVH-UPM) for over 3 years (1994-1997)

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