John F. Fessler

Treatment of Fractures of the Tibia and Radius-Ulna by External Coaptation

External coaptation of radial-ulnar and tibial fractures with casts or modified Thomas splint-cast combinations is a useful treatment. The economics of therapy make this method of treatment feasible for commercial animals. Current estimates for the cost of treatment of tibial fractures with Thomas splint-cast combinations are

Cryptorchidectomy in equids: 604 cases (1977–2010)

225.00 for calves and

Decision making in ruminant orthopedics.

410.00 for cattle if the metal splints are reused. Casts have similar costs. The availability of external coaptation techniques to all veterinarians and the success of treatment make external coaptation a good method for the treatment of many tibial and radial-ulnar fractures in cattle.

Use of radiography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging for evaluation of navicular syndrome in the horse.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the management of equids undergoing cryptorchidectomy at a referral hospital. DESIGN Retrospective case series. ANIMALS 604 client-owned equids. PROCEDURES Medical records of all equids undergoing surgical treatment of cryptorchidism from 1977 to 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. Analyses of breed, location of retained testes, accuracy of palpation per rectum for determining the location of retained testes, surgical technique, and postoperative complications were performed. RESULTS The most frequently affected breed was the Quarter Horse (282/604 [47%]), which was significantly overrepresented. Of the 604 equids, 90 (15%) had undergone previous surgical attempts at castration. Preoperative palpation per rectum was performed in 395/604 (65.4%) patients, and was accurate in predicting the location of the retained testes in 354/395 (89.6%). Surgeons were significantly more likely to be incorrect in determining the location of the retained testis by means of palpation per rectum in patients that had undergone a prior attempt at castration. For equids with abdominal cryptorchidism (360/604 [59.6%]), the most common surgical technique was noninvasive cryptorchidectomy (298/360 [82.8%]). In unilateral cryptorchids (521/604 [86.3%]), the 2 most common sites were left abdominal (184/521 [35.3%]) and right inguinal (148/521 [28.4%]). For bilateral retention (80/604 [13.2%]), abdominal cryptorchidism was most common (48/80 [60%]). Fever was present in 138/324 (43%) equids on the first day after surgery. Postoperative fever was not significantly associated with any variables evaluated. Including postoperative (≤ 24 hours) fever, 150 of 604 (25%) patients developed postoperative complications. Excluding postoperative fever, 18 of 604 (3%) patients developed major postoperative complications; complications in 10 of 604 patients were deemed surgically related, and 3 of 604 patients died. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results indicated that cryptorchidectomy in equids performed with a variety of surgical approaches was associated with minimal postoperative complications. A history of previous attempts at castration decreased the ability to accurately predict the location of the retained testis.

Regional Limb Perfusion for Antibiotic Treatment of Experimentally Induced Septic Arthritis

Decision making in ruminant orthopedics is determined by many factors, the most of important of which is age, size, and value of the patient, the nature of the injury, the prognosis for effective treatment and satisfactory healing, the intentions of the client, and the experiences of the veterinarian. Ruminant orthopedics currently is expanding to include the treatment of llamas and small ruminants as companion animals in addition to the treatment of valuable livestock. The future promises increasing sophistication in treatments and an ever higher quality of patient care.