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Post by Mick on Dec 31, 2010 15:55:24 GMT 10
Hi Tom,
Would like your thoughts on the following if possiable? I had a young dog ( 2 Years old) injured in a severe fall two nights ago. The dog was stretchered from the track and the track vet examined, his thoughts were the dog had multiple fractures in its wrist and metacarpals and would most likely not race again but could be saved, he suggested to take to vet surgery and have X Ray to assess, I promptly took the dog to my local surgery, the vet X rayed and the X ray showed only one clean break which was through the radial carpal bone in the left wrist, his thougts were that it could be pinned and if there was no ligament damage the may be still able to reach 100 % of its previos ability, the surgery went well, no ligament damage, the bone went back together straight and cleanly and the vet is of the opinion the dog may still be able to race given sucsessful rehab. Have you come across a dog injured this way and making a sucsseful comeback? What techniques could you sugesst with recovery programs to give the dog every cahnce to fully recover? The dog has quite a bit of ability and I would like to take on the challenge. Would be intrested in your thoughts although realising it is difficult to assess without seeing X Rays etc..
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Post by Tom Meulman on Dec 31, 2010 17:38:43 GMT 10
Hi Mick,
Firstly I’m sorry to hear that this has happened! It’s always devastating to watch your dog take a tumble in a race that results in a severe injury, and particularly when it happens to a young dog you have great hopes for.
While a broken bone close to the wrist joint is certainly a severe injury, the fact that is was a clean break and that your Vet is satisfied it has come together neatly, the long term outlook is good.
The main concern in a situation where a bone breaks in the wrist is the chance that it may cause the wrist to twist sideways slightly unless the bone heals perfectly straight. Because this is more likely to occur if there is any additional strain on the broken area during the healing process, it is imperative that the dog be kept very quiet, particularly during the first three weeks.
While any broken bone can develop a thickened area at the site of the break, this can be kept to a minimum by using Pulsed Magnetic Field treatment over the broken bone initially at a low frequency to keep the inflammation caused by the break to a minimum, while the minute vibration assists in speeding up the healing process.
It is certainly worth talking to your Vet about Pulsed Magnetic Field treatment for this injury, and seeing if you can borrow one from one of the other trainers in your area.
I do think the dog will race again as broken long bones generally heal well without any long term ill effects.
Cheers, Tom
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Post by Mick on Dec 31, 2010 18:03:02 GMT 10
Hi Tom,
Thank You kindly, I will speak to vet about your suggestion.
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