Title: Treatment of open bone fractures using epoxy-pin fixation in small ruminants: A review of 26 cases

Authors: HP Aithal, P Kinjavdekar, Amarpal, AM Pawde, Rohit Kumar, Rekha Pathak, P Kumar, SK Tyagi, P Dubey and DN Madhu

Source: Ruminant Science (2019)-8(1):103-114

Cite this reference as: Aithal HP, Kinjavdekar P, Amarpal, Pawde AM, Kumar Rohit, Pathak Rekha, Kumar P, Tyagi SK, Dubey P and Madhu DN (2019). Treatment of open bone fractures using epoxy-pin fixation in small ruminants: A review of 26 cases. Ruminant Science 8(1):103-114.

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to evaluate epoxy-pin external skeletal fixation (ESF) technique for treatment of open fractures in small ruminants. Twenty five goats and a sheep (weighing 8-55 kg) with fractures below the stifle or elbow made the subject for the study. The pins (1.5-2.0 mm K-wires, crossed at 600-900) were fixed in both proximal and distal bone fragments/bones. The pins in the same plane were bent (about 1-1.5 cm from the skin) towards the fracture site/joint and were joined using an adhesive tape (additional pins used when required) to make a temporary scaffold of connecting bars/rings. Thoroughly mixed epoxy putty was applied along the pin scaffold to make 18-20 mm epoxy-pin columns, and allowed to set for 40-50 minutes. All the animals were evaluated based on different clinical and radiographic observations made at regular intervals.

The results indicated that the epoxy-pin fixation was easy to apply and provided stable fixation of bone as indicated by early weight bearing, and normal fracture healing within 70 days (19 cases); and good to very good (13 cases) or satisfactory (6 cases) functional recovery in majority (3/4) of cases. It can be concluded that the multiplanar epoxy-pin ESF is simple, economical and provides stable fixation of unstable open fractures below the stifle or elbow joint in sheep and goats, hence it can be used to treat open fractures of lower limb, which are difficult to treat by conventional techniques.

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