When the radiographs for Mika popped up on the screen we immediately knew this would be no ordinary fracture repair. Mika’s fractured radius measured just 4mm across and her ulna was only 2.5mm across; far too small for any of the conventional fracture repair systems we have sitting on the shelf! With a quick call to our instrument supplier we managed to source a new 1.0mm plating kit that was just small enough to accommodate Mika’s tiny bones.
The new kit arrived the special delivery the next morning and we were taken back by how miniscule it was – the screws in the kit were so small you could only handle them using specially designed tweezers. Mika’s fractured bones were smaller than a drinking straw and they had to be handled with great care during the surgery or the fracture could have been made a lot worse. After a tense 45 minutes the last screw was placed in the bone plate being used to repair Mika’s fracture. Mika’s fracture repair was augmented with a small external fixator to add additional strength to the repair during the early phases of healing.
We pride ourselves on the fact that we hold equipment on the shelves to repair almost any fractured bone presented to us! Mika took us by surprise but at least now we are prepared for even the tiniest of patients and we are all excited to treat the next case with our Mika 1.0mm plating kit. As you can see from the attached photographs the screws and plates are absolutely minute!
48 hours after surgery Mika made her way back to her owners arms and home for some well deserved rest and recuperation – we will keep you updated on her progress but up to now she is behaving herself and healing well.
