Amputation of Polymelia in a Layer Chicken

Abstract

Polymelia was rarely recorded in birds; therefore, this report records the clinical and radiographic findings in a case of polymelia in a 7-mo-old layer Fayoumi chicken and the outcome of its amputation. The hen had two pericloacal extra limbs located caudal to the normal ones in an inverted position. The extra limbs were immovable and loosely attached to the underlying tissues. The supernumerary limbs had normal skin with ill-developed feathers. The extra limbs were fused proximally and crossed distally. Plain radiographic examination showed unequal numbers of bones and digits in both extra limbs. The right extra limb had a femur and tarsometatarsus while the left extra one had femur, tibiotarsus, and tarsometatarsus bones. The extra limbs appeared smaller than the normal ones and had neither muscles nor tendons. Amputation of the extra limbs under local infiltration analgesia was easy, safe, and curative.

First Report of Polymelia in a Passerine Bird, the Pied Flycatcher

“…Malformations in birds have been described mainly by Pourlis (2011) summarizing anatomical characteristics, signs, symptoms and habitat. So far, polymelia has been reported mainly among poultry (Abu-Seida 2014, Hassanzadeh & Rahemi 2017, Plang et al 2021). Our finding is highly relevant to science given the difficulty of finding this type of malformation in wild passerine birds due to their expected low viability in nature.…”

“…In addition, it can also be due to incorrect division of limbs or the lack of re-absorbance of a conjoined twin into the body (Verma et al 2013). These kinds of malformations have been reported mainly in humans (Abu-Seida 2014) but have also been described in farm animals (e.g. cows, sheep or pigs), opossums and some amphibians (Araujo et al 2020, Duque-Amado et al 2020, Rousseaux & Ribble 1988, Zielinński 2002).…”

“…Unlike in other animals, polymelia has not been commonly observed in birds. So far, it has been reported among broiler chickens and other farming fowls (Abu-Seida 2014, Hassanzadeh & Rahemi 2017, Plang et al 2021, Snyman et al 2022). The only cases reported in wild birds are the Swainson's Hawk Buteo swainsoni (Rogers et al 2016) and the White Stork Ciconia ciconia (Onmuş 2017).…”

A case of polymelia associated with syndactyly in Didelphis aurita (Wied-Neuwied, 1826)

“…Polymelia has been reported in amphibians (Hassine et al, 2011), cattle (Muirhead et al, 2014;Kim et al, 2001;Barua et al, 2014), birds (Rogers et al, 2016;Abu-Seida, 2014), and domestic dogs (Daneze and Brasil, 2018), as well as in humans (Retnam et al, 2016). However, to the knowledge of the authors, it has never been reported in opossums.…”

Unilateral Partial Aphalangia and Hemimelia in an Adult Dog and Cat: Clinical Presentation and Radiography Findings

“…D ysostoses are congenital skeletal malformations characterized by an abnormal development of individual bones or parts of bones (Carvallo et al, 2010). Numerous dysostoses have been previously recorded in domestic animals and birds (Carrig et al, 1981;Barrand, 2004;Abu-Seida 2014;Abu-Seida et al, 2015;Di Donaet al, 2016). Compared to human literature, description and classification of dysostoses are still lacking in veterinary literature (Temtamy and Aglan, 2008).…”