External Skeletal Fixation for Surgical Repair of a Bilateral Mandible Fracture in a Mediterranean Buffalo

Abstract

The surgical treatment and follow-up of a bilateral fracture of the molar part of the horizontal mandibular ramus, of a dairy Mediterranean Buffalo in "the field" were described. The mandibular region was swollen, painful and unstable on palpation. The radiographic examination confirmed the diagnoses. The association between sedation and nerve block of the mandibulo-alveolar nerve assured restraint and analgesia. The fractures were stabilized by linear skeletal external fixation, recycled from human medicine allowing a good mouth occlusion. Fifty-five days after surgery the fractures were completely healed and the heifer regularly calved 3 months after without any consequence for calf health.

Seroprevalence and Clinical Outcomes of Neospora caninum, Toxoplasma gondii and Besnoitia besnoiti Infections in Water Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis)

“…Water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) breeding system represents an important Italian economic resource and mozzarella cheese manufacturing is third-ranked as agricultural economy concerning sales volume [1]. Whereas water buffalo medicine suffers from poor clinical scientific knowledge if compared to cattle [2][3][4], estimation under field conditions of clinical findings associated to parasitic infections is an interesting challenge in this species where knowledge regarding the health consequences of the most common pathologies as well as their economic impact on the entire dairy food-chain are still almost rare [5][6][7]. In the recent years, increasing demand for dairy products and consequent maximizing productivity of buffalo herds have raised concerns regarding diseases that lower fertility or cause abortion in this livestock species but the attention has been focused mostly on infectious diseases [8].…”