Broken bones ‘badly broken’

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

Just got home. Would appreciate any medically knowledgeable people telling me exactly what is broken-shoulder was mentioned and a fragment (don’t know where from) is visible. It was a blur, I can’t lie, because after 10 minutes on a woods walk, Mitch took ages to come back, no wonder, he wasn’t far, thank god he managed to get back to us. At the vets, one member staff mentioned wild boar as a possible cause. I didn’t even know we had boar in the UK. He’s totally zonked post sedation for the x rays. We of course brought him straight home, we weren’t due back till tomorrow but thought he’d be better at home. Off to the RVC in the morning. He’s had the referral from the vets in Ross, they were brilliant, kudos and thanks to Chaseview Vets.


And please, no ‘You shouldn’t let him out of sight’. He’d already had an on lead walk, he’s rarely out of sight on normal walks and I’m feeling guilty to tears anyway.

 

[P3LH]

Hoping things are resolved quickly, what a scare. Yes to boar in some parts but I’d think they’d do more surface/wound damage too, a friends border terrier ascertained a similar injury after coming off the loser in a tangle with a male muntjac.

 

[AmyMay]

Can’t comment medically. But giving you a virtual hug

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

Hoping things are resolved quickly, what a scare. Yes to boar in some parts but I’d think they’d do more surface/wound damage too, a friends border terrier ascertained a similar injury after coming off the loser in a tangle with a male muntjac.

Clueless, the person gestured at above knee height for how big the males are. I’m not convinced, Goose would have been in full voice had he spotted wildlife and Mitch is remarkably clumsy sometimes.

 

[Clodagh]

I think if something with tusks had been at him he’d have a cut as well? I’ve no idea but ouch and I hope easily repairable.
Could he have run full pelt into a tree? Glass elbow is a thing with spanner’s isn’t it, but I’ve no idea what that looks like in an x ray.
You may just never know.

 

[MurphysMinder]

Can’t give any opinion on x rays but could he have run into a tree ? A friends sheltie did this as a young dog and smashed up her shoulder . She had a lot of external metalwork but made a full recovery and is still competing in agility at 10 years old . Wishing Mitch a speedy recovery .

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

I think if something with tusks had been at him he’d have a cut as well? I’ve no idea but ouch and I hope easily repairable.
Could he have run full pelt into a tree? Glass elbow is a thing with spanner’s isn’t it, but I’ve no idea what that looks like in an x ray.
You may just never know.

Not a mark on him, it was pretty muddy, red clay round there, so I don’t think he’s fallen over. I don’t know, just gutted for him.

 

[Jenko109]

I would doubt it was a bore. You would have heard some commotion surely.

Don't beat yourself up. He wasn't injured because he wasn't in sight. He probably took a tumble or collided with something.

X

 

[meleeka]

Have a virtual hug, it must have been very upsetting. I agree it’s entirely possible he ran into a tree. I will be thinking of you tomorrow.

 

[palo1]

If you were in the Forest of Dean, wild boar are very common. He could have been shouldered out of the way by a sow, or he may have been hit by a cyclist possibly: there are many of those in the FOD too!! . It could have just been an accident/hitting a tree at speed et c but whatever the cause I hope he is easily fixed and thank goodness he did get back to you. Good boy! So sorry, it is horrible to have an injured or poorly spanner.

 

[quizzie]

It’s the elbow joint….the main fracture is one of the branches of the triangular shape at the bottom of the humerus . The Humerus is the bone that runs from the shoulder to the elbow.The two lower bones are the radius and ulna that run down to the carpus(wrist). There may be other smaller fragments , so they will probably want to do more imaging at the RVC.
Because it involves a joint surface, they will want as accurate a reconstruction as possible to give the best prognosis…hence the referral to orthopaedic specialists at the RVC.
It is a not uncommon injury especially in young dogs ( can’t remember how old Mitch is?). Usually the result of force on a limb under torsion…so maybe a steep jump down with the leg at a bad angle on landing, or getting caught in a tree branch/fork at some speed?
Don’t panic…the RVC will have seen plenty of these.

 

[COldNag]

No help or advice to offer, but want to wish him a very speedy recovery, poor lad!

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

It’s the elbow joint….the main fracture is one of the branches of the triangular shape at the bottom of the humerus . The Humerus is the bone that runs from the shoulder to the elbow.The two lower bones are the radius and ulna that run down to the carpus(wrist). There may be other smaller fragments , so they will probably want to do more imaging at the RVC.
Because it involves a joint surface, they will want as accurate a reconstruction as possible to give the best prognosis…hence the referral to orthopaedic specialists at the RVC.
It is a not uncommon injury especially in young dogs ( can’t remember how old Mitch is?). Usually the result of force on a limb under torsion…so maybe a steep jump down with the leg at a bad angle on landing, or getting caught in a tree branch/fork at some speed?
Don’t panic…the RVC will have seen plenty of these.

Thank you! He’s going to be 3 in September.

There was a pretty steep drop to one side. We’d kept them on the lead earlier in the day due to the path being vertiginous and too close to the road for comfort.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I would think he has probably run/slid into a tree, which could have happened even if he had been within sight, the only difference would be that you would have known for sure what happened. There would have been no difference in the injury or the time it took to get medical attention, which wasn't very long at all.
I hope the op goes well tomorrow and he makes a speedy recovery, poor lad. I bet he recovers from this experience quicker than you do. Try not to worry.

 

[druid]

These aren't often trauma in Springers, they tend to be Elbow dysplasia or IOHC that has subsequently fractured. Usually very repairable and dogs do well after.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

He could have just slipped or ran into something at speed.

Wishing him a speedy recovery hopefully you will know a bit more tomorrow once his been to the RVC.

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

I would think he has probably run/slid into a tree, which could have happened even if he had been within sight, the only difference would be that you would have known for sure what happened. There would have been no difference in the injury or the time it took to get medical attention, which wasn't very long at all.
I hope the op goes well tomorrow and he makes a speedy recovery, poor lad. I bet he recovers from this experience quicker than you do. Try not to worry.

Thank you. My OH is pretty devastated, already saying how awful the future arthritis will be. I say worry about getting him right tomorrow, worry about everything else when it happens.

 

[twiggy2]

Wishing Mitch an uneventful surgery and recovery.
Lil was always good at injuring herself when out of sight dont beat yourself up about it.

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

These aren't often trauma in Springers, they tend to be Elbow dysplasia or IOHC that has subsequently fractured. Usually very repairable and dogs do well after.

We suspected elbow dysplasia back when we thought he was going to be disabled when he had a previous issue (I posted about it at the time, the RVC found nothing) so this is a very interesting point. We know he knocked his elbow chasing Goose and smacked it on a bench Goose hides under when they’re playing.

 

[SkylarkAscending]

I hadn’t realised you are local now - who did you see at Chaseview? They are really variable in my experience, some great vets there and some really not so great ones - they didn’t sodding diagnose let alone refer my greyhound with bone cancer

Yes we have a lot of wild boar around here and conflict with dogs is not uncommon, I think it’s more likely he has run into something though, depending on where you were walking?

Glad you have got the referral, they should sort things out

 

[CorvusCorax]

Poor boy, would agree more likely to be a collision with a tree or misstep into a hole/dip/down an incline/over undulating ground. Mine wrapped herself around a tree when going full pelt as a youngster and was badly winded and stayed down for a while.
Hope the recovery goes well.

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

@SkylarkAscending I’m not local yet, we were on holiday, spent a lot of time perusing estate agents, stayed in a fabulous Airbnb in Llangarron, would happily have made the owner a silly offer! Chaseview were the only place that could see us quite quickly. We saw Steff, who was great. I’m going to send a thank you card and write a positive review. We were at Whitestone.

 

[ycbm]

CT he could have easily done that while you were watching, don't beat yourself up over it. Hopefully fixable tomorrow, fingers all crossed for a quick recovery.

 

[SkylarkAscending]

@SkylarkAscending I’m not local yet, we were on holiday, spent a lot of time perusing estate agents, stayed in a fabulous Airbnb in Llangarron, would happily have made the owner a silly offer! Chaseview were the only place that could see us quite quickly. We saw Steff, who was great. I’m going to send a thank you card and write a positive review. We were at Whitestone.

Ah I haven’t seen Steff - I moved away from them after the debacle with Ace, my greyhound - but I know overall they are a great and very well respected practice

Not so many boar in that area then, but I understand why they suggested it as an option for sure.

Fingers are crossed for a quick recovery for Mitch

 

[druid]

We suspected elbow dysplasia back when we thought he was going to be disabled when he had a previous issue (I posted about it at the time, the RVC found nothing) so this is a very interesting point. We know he knocked his elbow chasing Goose and smacked it on a bench Goose hides under when they’re playing.

If he's been worked up (I must have missed that, sorry) then ED is much less plausible. Humeral fracture is just so often associated that it's the standard assumption when an ESS comes in with a catastrophic elbow fracture. In that sort of case it is a ticking time bomb and nothing the owner did or didn't do would have stopped it.

Good luck with the surgery, usually they're back to normal in 8-12 weeks depending on the repair.

 

[Nicnac]

Ziggy sends hugs to Mitch and I to you both. Wishing him a speedy recovery.

 

[ArklePig]

I'm so so sorry to read this, poor boy and poor you. Hope he has a speedy and uneventful recovery.

 

[Marnie]

Really sorry to hear about this, everything crossed for a speedy recovery x

 

[TheresaW]

Hope all goes well today. X

 

[BallyRoanBaubles]

Hope all goes well today and Mitch recovers quickly x