Zuko bounces back after fracturing leg

Name: Zuko

Age: 4 months

Breed: A bit of a mix!

Likes: Playing

Dislikes: Being kept inside whilst he recovered ZUKO was just 12 weeks old when he got himself into some mischief, jumping from a bit of a height. Whilst puppies can be quite ‘rubbery’ and bouncy, when Zuko landed he squeaked and immediately lifted his back leg. When his discomfort didn’t settle, his owners knew a trip to the vets was needed.

He was very brave but was obviously in a lot of pain whenever we went anywhere near his leg. We gave him pain relief and sedated him so we could assess and X-ray his leg. As we feared, Zuko had fractured his tibia (shin bone). It was a ‘spiral fracture’ where the crack twists its way down the length of the bone but the bone ends hadn’t moved too far.

His X-rays were uploaded into computer software that allowed us to measure implants specifically for his leg and the following day he was anaesthetised ready for surgery.

We chose a minimally invasive way to fix a plate and screws onto his shin bone, making two small incisions and sliding the plate in from bottom to top, rather than one big incision. The wounds were closed and X-rays were taken to check the implant placement.