Complications of fracture healing in dogs and cats

Sa？etak When choosing a method of fracture repair, patient considerations (such as age, weight, overall general health), type of fracture and the ability of the owner to perform postoperative care, and the financial status of the owner should all be carefully considered. For various reasons that may or may not be preventable, complications of fracture treatment may be observed, such as delayed union, non-union, malunion, osteomyelitis, sequestration, angular deformities and implant failure. A delayed union is a fracture that takes longer to heal than anticipated. Causes may be inadequate fracture ？xation, inadequate vascularity of the bone and soft tissue, the patient's age, etc. A nonunion is a fracture that has failed to heal, and does not show any further signs of progression towards consolidation. Nonunions may be classified as biologically active (viable), and biologically inactive (nonviable). Malunions are healed fractures in which anatomical bone alignment was not achieved or maintained during healing. Malunions include: deviations in the limb axis (angular deformities), rotational limb deformities and shortening of the limb. Osteomyelitis is defined as a bone inflammation involving the Haversian spaces, Volkmann canals, and generally the medullary cavity and periosteum. Bone infection is usually associated with open fractures or other trauma. Sequestra are, by definition, dead bone fragments separated from a blood supply, that may be associated with infection. Angular deformities appear after physeal fractures as a result of injury to the growth plate. This paper explains each of the complications of fracture repair and their causes