by LBEMC Admin
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ARTICLE: The Little Donkey That Could
Boy George is an adorable 1-year-old miniature donkey who presented to Loomis Basin Equine Medical Center after being in the wrong place at the wrong time and getting stepped on by a full-sized adult horse. Boy George was seen in the field on emergency and was splinted (despite his disapproval of the plan) and brought to the clinic for further assessment. At the clinic, x-rays were taken of his right hind leg which confirmed a significant fracture of his cannon bone.
Surgery was considered the way to provide him with the best chance at recovery, and he was taken to surgery for fracture repair. During surgery, Dr. Jason Errico applied a transfixation cast which involved drilling sterile pins through his cannon bone combined with the application of a cast around these pins. X-rays were taken during surgery to ensure that the fracture was aligned properly.
Boy George under anesthesia
Drilling of the pins
Realignment of limb
Application of the cast
Boy George recovered very well from anesthesia and became accustomed to his new cast quite quickly. He went home to recover from his surgery and a few weeks later returned to have the pins removed in a second procedure. This second step also went smoothly and the fracture was determined to be healing very well. Another cast was applied and Boy George had a few more weeks with his new cast. He became more and more adept at moving around in the cast and maintained a very good attitude about his recuperation and stall rest. His third recheck in December showed that he was continuing to heal well and a final cast was applied which remained in place for several more weeks.
Recheck x-rays with cast on - note the bony callous formation
Boy George still has some time to go before he is completely back to normal but he continues to do well and we all wish him the best on his road to a full recovery!
