Gorgeous Akira the seven-year-old husky has been quite the frequent flyer with the team at our Narre Warren clinic in the last several weeks. She was initially seen at the specialist hospital with a history of being lame on her right forelimb for a couple of days. Radiographs were performed straight away and revealed a proximal articular avulsion fracture of her middle phalanx, or in layman’s terms, a fracture to her right forelimb middle toe! An articular avulsion fracture is a type of bone injury that occurs when a small piece of bone, often where it articulates or connects with another bone, is pulled away from the rest of the bone due to the force of a sudden or traumatic event. This type of fracture is more common in dogs that are active or participate in activities that place stress on their limbs, such as running, jumping, or playing. The options for treatment of this type of fracture includes a splint and weekly bandage changes for anywhere up to 8 weeks, pain management and strict rest, making the near future look a little bleak for sweet Akira.
After her visit to VRH, she presented for a splint placement with Dr. Kim and began her long process of healing. Treating injuries such as this with splints and bandaging comes with its own set of risks and complications, despite the best efforts of the veterinary team and fantastic owner compliance. Akira unfortunately suffered from pressure sores which needed to be treated under heavy sedation, bandages that stayed on for less than 24 hours and had a severe allergic reaction to a suspected bee sting to boot! Despite all these upsets, every time she came to visit the team she had a happy tail and a typical husky howl greeting which really demonstrates her beautiful spirit and zest for life.
On Akira’s most recent radiographs, it revealed that whilst her fracture site is still visible, an adequate callous has formed around it, and with a gentle return to normal activities, she should make a full recovery and be able to play rambunctiously again with her canine family, hopefully without the broken toes though! We still hope to see you again soon Akira, but maybe just a drop in for a treat or two! Thanks for being a superstar patient gorgeous girl!