Meet Mia, a gorgeous 3 year old Siamese cat. Cats normally have excellent balance, but unfortunately Mia, who is an indoor cat, managed to fall out of a 1st floor window earlier this year. Her owner rushed her straight in to us for x-rays, which showed she had broken her right elbow into 5 small pieces! Fortunately she had no other injuries.
Due to the involvement of the joint, the fracture needed fixing within 48 hours to achieve a good outcome, but it was not going to be easy. The fragments of bone were extremely small and close to the joint, so veterinary surgeon Dr John Mather had to get his thinking cap on to work out how best to try and fix Mia. If he was unable to fix the fracture or the fixture failed, Mia would potentially lose her limb.
These x-rays show Mia’s broken elbow.
John considered various ways to fix Mia’s broken elbow, with the final decision having to be made during the surgery itself. He used two specially sourced tiny plates and a screw to put all 5 fragments back in place. This was very fiddly, taking about 2.5 hours, but the x-rays taken after the procedure showed he, and his assistant, head veterinary nurse Cazandra, had done an excellent job. Another of our veterinary nurses, Claire, had the important job of keeping Mia comfortably and safely anaesthetised for this long procedure.
This x-ray shows Mia’s elbow post-surgery, with the plates and screw in place.
There is always an anxious wait after a surgery like this, but following a period of cage rest Mia is using the leg really well and x-rays show the fractures are healing well.
