Puppy Femur Fracture

This was a Transverse Fracture of the Proximal Femur in a 5 month old puppy. We performed surgery last week with a bone plate and five screws. Puppy bone is soft and sometimes difficult to repair with hardware because it can be difficult to get implants to hold tightly. We also had to avoid placing screws into the growth plates and the joint space to prevent problems with recovery and growth. Fortunately, with proper confinement and rest, puppy bone is still growing with osteoblast cells and should heal more quickly than older mature bone. The estimated healing time is 6 to 8 weeks and typically do not remove this type of implant unless we encounter problems.