ABSTRACT
Options for Repair Methods Fractures of the radius and ulna in miniature breed dogs are often transverse and can occur from minimal trauma due to the small size of the bone and small AMI. There is also scant soft tissue coverage, small IM space and low biological activity. As such, primary bone union would be preferred. With secondary bone union, the biological environment is challenged to establish a callus. Because primary bone union is the goal, dynamic compression plating would be a first choice. All efforts should be made to place the plate in dynamic compression so as to allow axial loadbearing during the healing period. Other plating techniques could be considered such as cuttable plates or plates acting in buttress, including locking plates. External fixation techniques, such as ring fixators, can be successfully used in such cases, although complications are common. External support with a cast or splint is not recommended. Casts/splints do not provide sufficiently rigid fixation for primary bone union and they
suppress secondary bone union. Non-unions are frequent when external support is utilized. When considering internal plate fixation, all efforts should be made to engage six bone cortices with screws on each side of the fracture. Fractures can be very distal, allowing only four cortices of purchase, which is not optimal. However, in some cases, there are no alternatives. T-plates can be used to allow the maximum number of distal cortices in very distal fractures. Bone grafting is also recommended.
