NorthStar VETS Cool Case Bebe

The team at NorthStar VETS is doing innovative and amazing things every day as they work to advance the level of care available to your pet. This series of posts highlights cool cases at NorthStar VETS and the types of things done to save pets and improve their quality of life. These are cases using innovative and cutting-edge medical techniques, and/or stories of pets beating the odds. This is the story of Bebe, a patient of our Surgery team.

About Bebe
Bebe is a 10-month-old, male neutered Chihuahua, who presented to NorthStar VETS with a history of being lost for two days. When his pet parents found him, he was limping on his right forelimb. As it turned out, he sustained a fracture to the right distal humerus and right proximal radius. The injury was believed to be caused by Bebe getting hit by a car.

Bebe’s Condition
The distal humerus was split into two large segments with some small comminucations in-between. This fracture is called an intra-articular fracture and it is very important for our Surgery team to reconstruct the bone into perfect reduction to prevent the development of arthritis in the future. The proximal radius was also fractured, but was minimally displaced.

Bebe’s Treatment
This fracture was repaired with three pins and two screws. A lateral approach to the distal humerus and proximal radius was chosen by the team and performed on Bebe’s forelimb. The radial fracture was reduced with pointed reduction forceps and a single 2.0mm cortical positional screw was placed across both the radius and ulna. Then The distal humeral fracture was evaluated. The humeral condyle was carefully reduced and held in reduction with pointed reduction forceps. A .035K wire was placed across the condyle to help stabilize the segments. Then a 2.0mm cortical positional screw was placed across the condyle. The two segments of the humerus were then reduced and held while a lateral and then medial .045K wires were placed normograde from the distal aspect of the epicondyles and up the shaft of the humerus in cross-pin fashion.

How Things Went for Bebe
While that is a very technical description, it means that the fractures were very stable after this surgery. Bebe was managed in the hospital overnight with intravenous pain medication and IV antibiotics. He was discharged the following day to his family and was able to go home!

Learn more about the Surgery service at NorthStar VETS

Laura Culbert, DVM, MS, DACVS
Dr. Culbert has been part of the surgical team at NorthStar VETS since 2006. She received her veterinary degree from Cornell University in 1992, and completed an internship and surgical residency at the Animal Medical Center in New York City. She has conducted research in the areas of developmental biophysiology and muscular biochemistry, and her residency project focused on neurologic diseases in dogs and complications associated with steroid therapy. Dr. Culbert’s areas of interest in veterinary surgery include cardiothoracic surgery, oncologic surgery, plastic surgery and fracture repair, and she offers the tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA) procedure for large dogs and cranial cruciate ligament repair. Dr. Culbert has worked with various rescue groups over the years including Greyhound, Australian Shepherd, Jack Russell Terrier, Golden Retriever and Boxer rescue.

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