Rabbit hock dislocation

Re: Rabbit hock dislocation

Gillian Mostyn — Sat, 17 May 2014 07:40:28 GMT

Agreed Marie- my rabbit was plantigrade and I was very sceptical that splinting would work- the owners were always aware amputation may be needed at any point.

Re: Rabbit hock dislocation

Marie Kubiak — Fri, 16 May 2014 14:40:33 GMT

Most long bone fractures will cobble themselves together eventually but with the forces acting on a plantigrade hock this one will struggle to. I would echo what others have said - fixation plus pan-tarsal arthrodesis, or amputation. Interesting to see splinting may be an option, I haven't ever done this and my only concern would be if it doesn't work you're back to the surgical options having spent a fair amount of time and money on dressings.

Marie

Re: Rabbit hock dislocation

Michael Woodhouse — Fri, 16 May 2014 11:04:16 GMT

I shoot quite a lot of wild rabbits and fractures are not uncommon (I might see a couple per year). Many of them seem to have healed into a relatively functional limb with no vet input whatsoever.

Re: Rabbit hock dislocation

Gillian Mostyn — Fri, 16 May 2014 07:30:01 GMT

I had an almost identical fracture about 6 months ago. The distal edge of the fractured talus was also poking through the skin. My recommendation was amputation as the risk if infection alongside the difficulty with little bones made me wary of anything else helping.

Unfortunately I had one of those owners who didn't want amputation unless there was no other option so I agreed to try conservative treatment first. The leg was splinted for about 4 weeks, when the joint did appear to be fusing nicely, but I had to shave some of the protruding bone back to allow the skin to heal and prevent future pressure sores. After another 4 weeks the joint was completely rigid and the rabbit was, and continues to be, fine.

I am equally surprised how well this bunny did- and it was only a little indoor bunny with attentive owners...but it may be worth trying it if surgery isn't wanted?

Oh- my bunny was on antibiosis and nsaids for about a month.

Re: Rabbit hock dislocation

Malcolm Ness — Thu, 15 May 2014 21:58:00 GMT

As others have implied, these are challenging cases.

There is an inter-tarsal luxation and treatment options are arthrodesis, amputation or euthanasia.

The anatomy of rabbits means that the forces across the hock are considerable so any surgical fixation must be robust enough to control these forces. Surgery involves exposure of the surfaces of the luxated joints which must be completely debrided of articular cartilage before they are "anatomically" re-aligned. Fixation is achieved by arthrodesis wires (1mm diameter approx) passed down the calcaneus and across the luxation. In addition, it is essential to place a figure 8 tension wire - this needs to be relatively large (1mm or so) to control the big destructive forces. Implants may well need to be removed once bony union is achieved.

Surgery is challenging and prone to complication/technical error but can give good results - but so does amputation!

Re: Rabbit hock dislocation

Charlie Lyon — Wed, 14 May 2014 17:42:44 GMT

Amputation it may well be then, thank you

Re: Rabbit hock dislocation

Rob Davis — Wed, 14 May 2014 17:12:53 GMT

[quote user="Chris Barker"]

Looks to me that it has suffered a fracture through the talus which has led to luxation at the proximal intertarsal joint. The tibiotarsal joint surface seems to have survived. S'pose you could drive an arthrodesis wire down through the length of the calcaneus and into the 4th tarsal bone, let the fracture fuse and fibrosis do the rest In a larger animal I'd put the leg in a support cast but I have me doubts about using one in a bunny

[/quote]

I'm no expert, but I would think that there would be considerable forces acting on the talus in a rabbit and would be concerned that a wire fixation may not be robust enough. I suspect amputation would be more likely to have a successful outcome, particularly if the owners don't want referral.

Re: Rabbit hock dislocation

Kirsten Simpson — Wed, 14 May 2014 15:31:53 GMT

Either pin it or lop the leg off. Do very well with 3 legs!

Re: Rabbit hock dislocation

Charlie Lyon — Wed, 14 May 2014 15:09:35 GMT

I was afraid the answer would be something along those lines! Not being overly familiar with that sort of ortho procedure anyway, let alone in a rabbit with delicate bones, could be challenging. Is it the sort of thing that would start to stabilise after a couple of weeks with a support dressing if we did manage to fashion one for a bunny of some sort without pinning or does it require the surgery as well? Are we looking at euth if referral/ surgery isn't an option?

Re: Rabbit hock dislocation

Chris Barker — Tue, 13 May 2014 18:25:51 GMT