Big Sky Stallone’s broken leg - PART 2 Tibia fracture repair in an alpaca cria By Frances Zewe - 3rd Year StudentDoctor of Veterinary Medicine Sydney School of Veterinary Science - The University of Sydney fzew4186@uni.sydney.edu.au Phil Sharman - Casino Veterinary Clinic casvet@bigpond.com
I was fortunate to observe a fascinating surgery during my pre-clinical placement at Casino Veterinary Clinic, NSW. This article is based on my observations of the surgery, and the clinical record written by Dr Phil Sharman. ‘Stallone’, the 16-day-old alpaca cria (6.8kg) was found in the paddock with his le� leg ‘swinging in the breeze’ and was presented to Casino Veterinary Clinic. Upon palpa�on, a fractured �bia was suspected. The Glove Box Guide to Alpacas was consulted to determine drug dosages for alpacas and Stallone was administered 0.12mL butorphanol IM (10mg/mL) and 0.2mL meloxicam IM (5mg/ mL) (Vaughan 2017). The limb was radiographed, which confirmed a spiral mid sha� �bial fracture (Figure 1). The limb was splinted while the owner considered the op�ons: pla�ng in-house, cas�ng in-house, referral, or euthanasia. Referral op�on was dependant on whether the nearest specialist hospital (in Queensland) would operate on an alpaca cria. Of the in-house surgical op�ons, internal fixa�on was the most desirable due to improved chance of healing with internal fixa�on. In contrast, cas�ng the limb posed the risk of non-union, as immobilising Stallone’s s�fle joint would be difficult. The owner decided to give Stallone a chance and opted for the internal fixa�on. I had the enjoyable task of holding Stallone un�l surgery �me (Figure 2). At 5pm on Friday a�ernoon, prepara�on to plate Stallone’s �bia started! The right mid-jugular vein was clipped and a 20G catheter placed and intravenous fluids (Hartmann’s Solu�on) started at 60mL/hour. Stallone was induced with 1.2mL Alfaxan®; he was s�ll a bit light for intuba�on so was topped up with 0.4mL Alfaxan®. 24
