Use of Nylon Bands for Alternative Surgical Treatment of Oblique Fractures in Dogs
World Small Animal Veterinary Association World Congress Proceedings, 2009
L.P. Gonçalves1; B. Kemper2; E.A. Tudury1
1Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil; 2Universidade Norte do Paraná, Arapongas, Brazil

The long-bone fractures are a common problem in dogs and approximately 55% of these affect the femur and the humerus, and open reduction and internal fixation is indicated in almost all of these. Cerclage refers to a flexible wire that wrapped around the circumference of the bone tightly to promote intramedullary compression of the fragments which can be used to stabilize fragments and oblique fractures as an auxiliary method. It's generally employed as an auxiliary to intramedullary pins, external skeletal fixation and bone plates. Additionally, they are used intra-operatively to assist in the stability of fractured bone fragments, while the main fixation is applied. Instead of using surgical cerclage wire, there's the option to use nylon bands used in dogs and rabbits, which has advantages such as convenience in its application due to its flexibility and less damage to surrounding tissue, and reduce the operative time. This paper aimed to describe the use of nylon bands as an auxiliary method in osteosynthesis of long bone fractures in dogs. Five mixed breed animals were operated, all with a history of car accident, sent to radiology to confirm the suspected fracture. Four of them were of the femur and one affected the humerus. The five animals were treated with intramedullary pin (IMP) and nylon bands. In cases 1 and 2 only the IMP and nylon bands were used, using two and three bands respectively, in case 3 a tie in connection was associated with the cerclage, and in 4 was necessary to fix the seals with Kirchner wire and the band used in case 5 together with the PIN, 2 nylon bands an external fixator. The bone healing was observed with 45, 60 and 50 days at 1, 2 and 5 cases, respectively, through the evaluation of bone callus. After 60 days all patients showed radiographic signs of complete bone healing. None of the animals showed complication associated with the use of bands. They were effective as an auxiliary method in the stabilization of oblique fractures, and easy to use, reducing the surgical time and lowering the cost of treatment without interfering in the development of bone callus.

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L.P. Gonçalves
Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco
Recife, Brazil


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