Case of the Month

‘Timmy’ is a much-loved 1 year-old domestic shorthair cat who has a habit of wandering away from home.He recently went missing on Friday and returned late on the Saturday with a very sore left front leg and some abrasions to his chin. Concerned that he may have been hit by a car, his owners were keen to have him checked over.

On examination, ‘Timmy’ was bright and happy but could not use his left front leg at all. There was a lot of swelling half-way down his upper ‘arm’ and a lot of abnormal range of motion associated with the injury.

Suspicious of a broken leg, ‘Timmy’ was immediately admitted for pain-relief and to have an x-ray. It soon became obvious that he had, in fact, broken his left humerus (the bone in the upper arm). The fracture was approximately halfway down the bone, had created a small chip fragment and the three separate boney segments had become significantly displaced (ie; moved away from each other).

After discussing his various options with his mum, it was decided that amputation of the badly broken leg offered ‘Timmy’ the best likely outcome. ‘Timmy’ went straight in to theatre and a surgical amputation was performed. Although it sounds traumatic, limb amputations are very well tolerated in pets and ‘Timmy’s’ surgery went extremely well. Some intra-venous fluids, some antibiotics and a good dose of pain-killers ensured his complete recovery and ‘Timmy’ has gone home to wreak havoc on three legs.