Who out there remembers those commercials? While this phrase is now used in a variety of situations, some real and some in a joking manner, the sad reality is that some older people do fall, and can’t get up. But, what happens when a pet is also involved? In today’s Cool Case Friday we meet a little dog named Frisky (name changed for privacy). He had an unfortunate accident with his owner.
One early morning at the Animal Hospital we received a very frantic call from one of our regular clients. Their dog had been staying with their elderly mother to provide her some company. That morning, Grandma took an unfortunate fall at home. Poor little Frisky, a 6 pound Yorkie, broke Grandma’s fall. We can easily imagine that when 6lb versus 140lb, the larger of the two is going to win. Frisky was in a lot of pain, and needed to be seen immediately.
We asked them to bring Frisky over to the Animal Hospital as quickly as they could and we’d see him in between our scheduled appointments. Frisky was a happy little Yorkie, and even though he was in a considerable amount of pain that day, he was still happy to see me and wagged his tiny tail.
As always, I started with a complete physical examination. Crushing injuries to a limb, chest, back, or abdomen can all present in different ways. His eyes and ears looked great, and I didn’t find any broken teeth. His heart and lungs sounded good, with no evidence of bruising to the lungs or fractured ribs. His front legs moved well, and didn’t appear painful. His spine was also normal on palpation, and his reflexes were normal. Then we reached his back legs. He was painful on extension of both back legs, but more on the left than the right. In addition, he was having a hard time supporting his weight with both back legs. My first recommendation to these owners was an x-ray, to which they quickly approved.
What do you see on Frisky’s x-ray? I’ve included it above here without circling the problem. Does anything seem out of place to you? Why would he be painful on both hind legs? Injuries like Frisky’s happen often to dogs and cats. Different types of trauma can create the same injuries. Whether it is a hit by car, a fall from a high place, or a traumatic injury like Frisky’s. I’ll include the same x-ray below, this time with circles around his fractures. Frisky sustained FOUR fractures to his pelvis when Grandma fell on him. If you look closely you can see the bone fragments that are present sitting near the fracture sites.
This was a case for immediate referral to the Orthopedic Specialist. He needed surgical intervention very quickly while the fractured parts of the bone were still close together and could be fixed with some plates and screws. He was whisked off to the specialist by his parents that same day, was stabilized there, and had corrective surgery the following morning. While all four of his fractures could not be repaired surgically, with strict cage rest the surgically repaired fractures and other fractures would heal well. Frisky came back to see me a few times during his recovery period. After a few months he was back to running around the yard.
We asked them to bring Frisky over to the Animal Hospital as quickly as they could and we’d see him in between our scheduled appointments. Frisky was a happy little Yorkie, and even though he was in a considerable amount of pain that day, he was still happy to see me and wagged his tiny tail.
What do you see on Frisky’s x-ray? I’ve included it above here without circling the problem. Does anything seem out of place to you? Why would he be painful on both hind legs? Injuries like Frisky’s happen often to dogs and cats. Different types of trauma can create the same injuries. Whether it is a hit by car, a fall from a high place, or a traumatic injury like Frisky’s. I’ll include the same x-ray below, this time with circles around his fractures. Frisky sustained FOUR fractures to his pelvis when Grandma fell on him. If you look closely you can see the bone fragments that are present sitting near the fracture sites.
This was a case for immediate referral to the Orthopedic Specialist. He needed surgical intervention very quickly while the fractured parts of the bone were still close together and could be fixed with some plates and screws. He was whisked off to the specialist by his parents that same day, was stabilized there, and had corrective surgery the following morning. While all four of his fractures could not be repaired surgically, with strict cage rest the surgically repaired fractures and other fractures would heal well. Frisky came back to see me a few times during his recovery period. After a few months he was back to running around the yard.
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