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Case Report
Caudal Elbow Luxation in a Dog Managed by
Temporary Transarticular External Skeletal Fixation
Copyright © 2014 K. Hamilton et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This case report details a caudal unilateral traumatic elbow luxation in a 4-year-old male neutered Labrador following a road traffic
trauma. This is a highly unusual injury in the dog. The pathogenesis and successful treatment by closed reduction followed by
stabilisation with a temporary transarticular external skeletal fixator are discussed. The dog was assessed at 4 weeks and 6 months
after surgery. Findings at 6 months after treatment demonstrated a normal gait with no pain or crepitation. A mild amount of soft
tissue thickening around the elbow was noted. The range of motion of the elbow was limited to 45 degrees of flexion and 150 degrees
of extension. This is the first case of a traumatic caudal luxation of the elbow in a dog described in the English veterinary literature
and the first report of successful management of an elbow luxation in a dog by closed reduction and temporary transarticular
fixation.
pale and cardiopulmonary auscultation revealed slightly achievable with the elbow and carpus in 90 degrees of flexion
decreased bronchovesicular sounds. Superficial skin abra- and exceeded the angles achievable in the contralateral limb.
sions were noted over the right carpus, over the tarsi bilat- This finding was suggestive of rupture of the medial collateral
erally, and over the craniolateral aspect of the left thigh. ligaments. Further manipulation of the elbow caused it to
Marked bruising was evident over the caudal abdomen and reluxate caudally. Closed reduction of the left elbow was easily
inguinal region. Neurological assessment of the left pelvic repeatable.
limb was indicative of a sciatic nerve deficit; pain sensation As the left elbow was unstable after closed reduction
was present and the patellar reflex was intact, but there was and the dog had further orthopaedic injuries affecting other
a reduced withdrawal response. Neurological examination limbs, surgical stabilisation of the luxated elbow was indi-
of the left forelimb was unremarkable; pain sensation and a cated. Stabilisation was achieved with application of a type I
withdrawal response were within normal limits and volun- transarticular external skeletal fixator (SK ESF System; IMEX
tary motor function in this limb was noted. Pain was elicited Veterinary, Inc., Longview, TX, USA). Four, positive profile
on palpation and manipulation of the left elbow and pelvis. end threaded 2.5 mm pins were placed laterally into the radius
Thoracic radiographs demonstrated changes consistent with and four 3.2 mm positive profile pins were placed laterally
mild pulmonary contusions. A urinary catheter was placed into the humerus. The holes were predrilled with a 2.0 mm
to assist management of the dog and analgesia was provided drill bit prior to insertion of the 2.5 mm pins and with a
by administration of methadone (Dechra, Sansaw Business 2.5 mm drill bit prior to insertion of the 3.2 mm pins. Pins
Park, Hadnall, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK) 0.2 mg/kg via were connected to a connecting bar with medium SK clamps.
intravenous injection every 4 hours. The connecting bars of the radial and humeral component
The following day the dog was premedicated with of the external skeletal fixator were connected with an IMEX
0.02 mg/kg acepromazine (Novartis, Frimley Business Park, angular hinge. The hinge was locked to prevent motion. Post-
Frimley, Camberley, Surrey, UK) and 0.2 mg/kg methadone operative radiographs confirmed satisfactory pin positioning.
(Dechra, Sansaw Business park, Hadnall, Shrewsbury, Shrop- Following imaging a triangulating connecting bar was added
shire, UK) via intravenous injection. General anaesthesia to the construct spanning from the proximal aspect of the
was induced with propofol (Abbott Animal Health, Abbott humeral connecting bar to the distal aspect of the radial
House, Vanwall Business Park, Vanwall Road, Maidenhead, connecting bar with two SK clamps. Analgesia was provided
Berkshire, UK) total dose 1.4 mg/kg and maintained with with topical transdermal fentanyl (“RECUVYRA”, Elanco
isoflurane (Novartis; Frimley Business Park, Frimley, Cam- Animal Health, Eli Lilly and Company Limited, Lilly House,
berley, Surrey, UK) in oxygen. Examination at that time Priestley Road, Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK). Pin insertion
revealed that the left thoracic limb appeared shorter than the sites were covered with a protective bandage that was changed
right and it was maintained in a flexed position. The tip of daily for three days before being removed.
the olecranon was felt to be displaced caudally relative to The dog was taken to surgery 24 hours later to reduce
the distal humeral epicondyle. Marked swelling, crepitus, and and stabilise the right sacroiliac luxation with a single
instability of the left elbow joint were evident on palpation 3.5 mm/45 mm Synthes cortical screw (Synthes Ltd., Vet-
and manipulation. erinary Division, 20 Tewin Road, Welwyn Garden City,
Computed tomography (CT) was performed using a 5th Hertfordshire, UK) sacroiliac lag screw. The left ilial shaft
generation helical multislice scanner (Somatom Emotion 16; fracture was stabilised with two polyaxial locking cuttable
Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany) of both elbows, plates (VetLOX reconstruction plates 3.5 mm and 2.7 mm)
the pelvis, and left femur. CT imaging of the left thoracic (VetLOX Freelance Surgical Ltd., Havyat Business Park,
limb demonstrated a caudal luxation of the left humeroradial Havyat Road, Wrington, Somerset, UK).
and humeroulnar joints (Figures 1 and 2). The left medial Postoperatively the dog was ambulatory on all four legs
coronoid of the ulna appeared sclerotic and a small fragment with sling support. The dog received daily physiotherapy
was visible at the coronoid consistent with medial coronoid for the pelvic limb injuries. The dog was discharged from
disease. Additionally, pelvic CT revealed comminuted frac- the hospital 12 days postoperatively by which time it was
tures of the right ischium and pubis, separation of the pubic ambulatory on all limbs without assistance. The hinge of the
symphysis, and a comminuted left ilial fracture. The right transarticular external skeletal fixator was maintained in a
sacroiliac joint was displaced laterally. fixed position until removal of the frame.
The left thoracic limb was suspended from a drip stand The dog was reexamined four weeks after application
for ten minutes prior to attempting closed reduction. The of the transarticular external fixator for the luxated left
dog’s body weight was used to distract the joint. Reduction elbow. At this time the dog was bearing weight well on
was achieved by applying further manual traction and gentle both forelimbs. Some circumduction of the left forelimb was
supination to the antebrachium (with the elbow in a moder- evident during limb protraction, enabling limb usage with
ately flexed position) to distract the coronoid process of the immobilisation of the elbow. A moderate amount of serous
ulna from the olecranon fossa. Pressure was applied to the discharge was noted to be associated with the most proximal
caudal aspect of the olecranon with the other hand. A clunk pin tract in the humerus. The frame remained stable. A
was felt when reduction of the joint was achieved. Manip- sciatic neuropraxia was still apparent in the left hind limb,
ulation of the joint after reduction demonstrated a normal with postural deficits and a reduced withdrawal reflex still
range of flexion and extension. Stability was assessed with evident associated with this limb. Pain sensation and motor
Campbell’s test [11]. Pronation of greater than 60 degrees was function, however, remained intact. The radiographs taken
Case Reports in Veterinary Medicine 3
(a) (b)
Figure 1: (a) CT 3D reconstruction of left elbow viewed from lateral aspect demonstrating caudal luxation of the humeroradial and
humeroulnar joint. (b) CT 3D reconstruction of left elbow viewed from caudolateral aspect demonstrating caudal luxation of the humeroradial
and humeroulnar joint.
(a) (b)
Figure 3: (a) Mediolateral radiograph of the left forelimb after reduction and stabilisation of left elbow. (b) Caudocranial radiograph of the
left forelimb after reduction and stabilisation of left elbow.
the cranial soft tissues. This was not considered in this system that allows flexible hinge positioning, independent
case due to the instability identified from Campbell’s test; of the fixator pin. Consequently the fixator design did not
pronation of the elbow was greater than 60 degrees, with the accommodate hinge motion and the benefits of maintaining
elbow and carpus in 90 degrees of flexion, consistent with joint motion were lost. Despite maintaining the hinge in the
complete transection of the medial collateral ligament. In locked position, the clinical outcome was excellent in this
addition fixing the elbow in a flexed position would not be case and closed reduction and stabilisation of a caudal elbow
optimal in this polytrauma case with multiple limb injuries luxation with a type 1 transarticular external skeletal fixator
as it was felt that the dog would need to bear weight on provided a successful outcome with a good clinical recovery.
this leg following surgery due to its compromised pelvic We did not make any recommendations for further
limbs. In dogs when elbow instability remains after closed investigations or treatment of the medial coronoid disease
reduction and/or there is significant instability of either the identified associated with the left elbow while it remained
medial or lateral collateral ligaments, surgical stabilisation asymptomatic. Multiple studies have made recommendations
is recommended followed by immobilisation [1, 2, 4, 24]. relating to the optimum treatment for medial coronoid
Reported surgical techniques in dogs include reconstruction disease, including fragment retrieval [38–40], subtotal coro-
of the collateral support structures with suture repair or noidectomy [41], cartilage debridement [40], proximal ulna
humeral transcondylar and proximal radial and ulnar bone osteotomy [42, 43], biceps/brachialis muscle release [44],
tunnels in combination with adjunct joint immobilisation to and medical management [38, 39]. It is difficult to make a
allow healing [1, 2, 4, 24]. Described methods of secondary definitive treatment recommendation in a previously asymp-
immobilisation to protect the ligamentous repair include tomatic dog recovering from a major orthopaedic injury,
splints, transarticular pinning, or use of a modified external when the majority of treatment options currently have the
skeletal fixator [1–3, 10, 24, 27, 28]. However, application potential for some degree of morbidity.
of an external skeletal fixator alone following closed elbow
reduction, without primary repair of collateral ligaments or
placement of prosthetic ligaments, has not been reported
Conflict of Interests
in dogs to the authors’ knowledge. In the authors’ clinical The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests
experience closed reduction and stabilisation with a transar- regarding the publication of this paper.
ticular external skeletal fixator can be used as a successful
treatment where collateral ligament injury is evident on
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