Pelvis Fracture

This 4 year old British Shorthair cat was referred for advanced imaging after a serious road traffic accident. She was not able to stand up or walk by herself. Pain relief was started as soon as possible in order to keep her quiet and comfortable. After ruling out any concomitant problems, such as thoracic or abdominal injury, she was mildly sedated and pelvic x-rays were taken which showed the patient had a serious injury to the pelvis.

A CT exam was taken in order to assess the gravity of condition. CT is a useful advanced imaging tool often used in human medicine to image complex fractures, especially pelvic ones where multiple bone segments can be involved. In a recent study, 40 % of dog and cat with fractures of the pelvis had more than one fracture. CT imaging allowed the clinician a perfect insight into the exam nature of the pelvic injury in order to correctly plan surgery and the postoperative management of the patient. The patient underwent surgery to repair the pelvic fracture and made a full recovery.

The reconstruction of a complex fracture in 3-dimensions is invaluable asset that allows the surgeon see the displacement and rotation of all the fragments of the fractured bone in a 3-dimensional space. This information is the used to meticulously plan the surgical repair allowing shorter surgical times and more successful surgical outcomes.

Fitzpatrick Referrals