Fracture is a challenging problem in domestic as well as wild birds. Caged birds are
prone to stress and self-injury. Wing and leg fractures in birds are most common problems. The
fracture of bones is common in avian species as a result of impact injuries due to collision with
branches, electric lines or other obstacles, either natural or anthropogenic. The basic principles of
fracture fixation are the same in birds and mammals. Fractures treated with biomechanically
sound fixation and proper attention to soft tissues will be most likely to heal with a functional
outcome. However, osteomyelitis, bone sequestration, and joint ankylosis still continue to be
major factors in inhibiting healing and bone functionality.
This research project was designed with the aim to test the effectiveness and accuracy of
three sets of bone splintage devices in healing long oblique mid-shaft femoral fractures in birds,
with minimal side effects and stress to the patient.
The Study was conducted on 12 adult, domestic fowls of either sex. The birds were
received as clinical cases presented with long oblique femoral fracture at Pet Centre, University
of Veterinary & Animal Sciences Lahore. They were individually marked with coloured plastic
rings for the sake of identification. They were divided into three groups i.e. Group A , Group B
and Group C comprising four birds each, which were designated as I, II, III, and IV respectively.
In the birds of Group A long oblique femoral fracture was reduced and immobilized with
intramedullary pinning, with pin size between 2.5mm to 3.0mm. While in Group B, similar
fracture was treated with 2 – 3 full cerclage wiring. And in the final Group C both of the above
techniques were applied simultaneously i.e. IM pin with 2 – 3 cerclage wires. The birds were
maintained in separate cages post-operatively until the completion of the study.
Subsequent comparative parameters were studied which included physical examination
of wound, lameness grading, radiological scoring for callus formation, fracture line union,
SUMMARY
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fracture alignment as well as callus remodelling. The collected data regarding study parameters
was illustrated by descriptive statistics and non-parametric analysis of variance (Kruskal Walis
Test) using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20.
Conclusion:
Therefore, as advocated by the results of this study, intramedullary pinning (preferably
threaded) with at least 2 – 3 full cerclage wiring was a better choice for the correction of a long
oblique mid-shaft femoral fracture in domestic fowl. The combination of both these techniques
together give a strong backbone for bone healing to take place with minimum amount of stress to
the bone fragments. Both these techniques were easy, required little soft tissue manipulation,
were cost-effective, required less equipment and could easily be applied by an average
practitioner.