No abstract

The details of eight dogs (11 elbows) referred to the authors with lameness relating to elbow pain associated with incomplete fracture of the humeral condyle were reviewed. In all cases, a diagnosis was reached by radiographic examination, with the pathognomonic feature being a radiolucent line, in the sagittal plane, through the condyle. Treatment involved placement of a transcondylar bone screw with or without bone tunnels being created parallel to this implant. Six dogs (nine elbows) made a complete recovery without subsequent complications.

Forty dogs undergoing a variety of orthopaedic surgical procedures were randomly assigned to one of two analgesic protocols, receiving either pethidine at 2 mg/kg pre-operatively and 3 mg/kg postoperatively, or carprofen, a new non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug at 4 mg/kg pre-operatively. Analgesia and sedation were assessed after the operations under double blind conditions using a discontinuous scoring system and a visual analogue scale. There was good agreement between the two scoring systems, and a statistical analysis of the visual analogue scores showed that carprofen provided slightly better pain relief than pethidine and produced less sedation. Carprofen provided good analgesia during the 18 hours the dogs were in hospital and no adverse side effects were observed.

Surgical management of IOHC is associated with a high rate of postoperative complications. Placement of the transcondylar screw in lag fashion may limit postoperative complications and warrants further consideration.

CLP and HDCP may both be used successfully to achieve pancarpal arthrodesis. Adjunctive external coaptation does not appear to have a measurable clinical benefit but is associated with morbidity.