Dodo, an 8-month-old French Bulldog, suffered a fracture of a forelimb during play. The forelimb bones are the radius and the ulna, and the fracture affected the growth plates of the radius and the ulna, from which these bones grow.
The radial growth plate deviated at an angle of about 30 degrees, and the ulna growth plate looked crushed and fragmented. it was likely that the ulna growth plate would now close and that the angulation of the radial growth plate would result in limb deformity.
At eight months, there wasn’t a tremendous amount of growth still to come, but there was still the possibility of conflict between the growth plates if one continued to grow and “closed” prematurely. This conflict could lead to further progressive growth-related limb deformities, which might affect the function of the carpus (wrist) or elbow joints.
So at West Midlands Referrals, we removed one of the growth plates and fixed the other with pins.
These may well need removing in time. The missing section of the ulna looks dramatic but has no great consequence.
22nd November 2014
