Harvey, a 7-year active male Labrador, presented to us at West Midlands Referrals lame with degenerative joint disease (DJD) affecting digits 2, 3 and 5 of the left forelimb. The metacaro-phalangeal joint of the 3rd digit seemed the most painful on palpation, and this joint was one of the three that involved a principal weight-bearing digit.
The middle two digits are the main weight-bearing ones. This joint was excised with an oscillating saw. The gap was left to fill with flexible fibrous tissue to forma a pseudarthrosis (a “false joint”).
Lameness seemed resolved a few weeks post-op, and he is building back to normal activity over a few weeks.
