Veterinaria

Case report

Intramedullary Fixation Approach to Tibiotarsal Fracture in Ostrich (Struthio camelus): 2 Case Report

Muhammad Tanveer Munir a,b, Muhammad Arif Zafar a*, Nasir Mukhtar a, Arfan Yousaf a, Muhammad Safdar Anjum a, Sajid Umar a, Maaz Arif a

a Faculty of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi. 46300, Pakistan

d Poultry and Wildlife Section, National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad. 46000, Pakistan

Abstract

Lameness is one of the most common problems of musculoskeletal injuries faced by birds especially Ostrich (struthius camales) chicks during brooding period. Mostly it occurs due to fracture in long and their associated bones because of development of pathological condition of bone softening. In avian species, external splints and intramedullary pinning are the most common method to manipulate such injuries. In this case report, two ostrich chicks (A & B) were presented with shaft fracture of tibiotarsus of left limb. Surgery was performed for introduction of intramedullary (IM) pin to immobilize the fractured bones. Bird A was approached laterally and B medially to reach the bone. Though, the birds successfully recovered from anesthesia after surgery they couldn’t survive longer due to stress and blood loss. We concluded that medial approach is more feasible while dealing with such fractures.

Keywords: Ostrich, Fracture, Tibiotarsus, Intramedullary pinnin

Received April 22, 2015; Revised May 25, 2015; Accepted June 10, 2015

*Corresponding author: Dr. Muhammad Arif Zafar; E-mail: dr.mazafar@uaar.edu.pk