Lateral Tibial Head Buttress Plate: Use in a Pathological Femoral Fracture Secondary to a Bone Cyst in a Dog

Summary

A ten-month-old neutered Siberian Husky dog sustained a long oblique diaphyseal right femoral fracture which extended into and was secondary to a large metaphyseal bone cyst. The cyst was curetted and bone grafted. To attain adequate fracture and cyst stabilization, an AO/ASIF left tibial head buttress plate was used. Due to the unique configuration and curvature of the plate, three of 11 screws were placed in unaffected epiphyseal bone. This contributed to good frictional apposition of the plate to the bone with resultant excellent fracture stability. Twenty-six weeks after the operation the fracture and cyst had healed and the dog had full function of the limb. The lateral tibial head buttress plate should be considered for use in supracondylar femoral fractures, in large dogs, because of ease of application, good conformity to the distal curvature of the femur, plate stiffness and the resultant stability.

A human tibial plate was used to stabilize a difficult femoral fracture which occurred secondary to a bone cyst. The unique dimensions and shape of the plate facilitated excellent conformity of the plate to the bone and enabled adequate screw fixation in the epiphysis distal to the grafted metaphyseal cyst defect. The fracture and cyst were healed at 26 weeks with excellent limb function.

Keywords

Lateral tibial head buttress plate - bone cyst - pathological femoral fracture

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