Otto is a gorgeous 14-week-old springer spaniel who very sadly broke his elbow.
This is actually quite a common fracture in young spaniels and is caused by the ‘growth plate’ of the elbow (where bones grow from in young animals) being a weak point within the joint. All Otto did was jump down from the sofa, and because of the exact force at the moment his foot hit the ground, the weight was transferred up his leg, into his elbow, through the soft growth plate and out of the side of the elbow – this is called a lateral condylar fracture.
Otto came to us from another practice as we now offer surgical referrals to pets whose own practice can’t fix them for whatever reason. Simon put his elbow back together and put a screw across the elbow to hold it in position, with a small stainless-steel plate and screws across the broken ridge as well.
Otto’s owner now has the hard part – keeping Otto in a cage for 4 weeks :-0
He’s been a very good boy so far, so fingers crossed. It’s important that he rests strictly so that the bones can heal – if they heal in the position that they were when he came off the operating table, he will make a full recovery.
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