External fixator for the treatment of narrowed pelvic canal in a cat

Abstract

The aim of this study was to report the outcome of the use of an external fixator to treat a pelvic canal stenosis in a 5-month-old female cat. The cat was referred with a history of 3 weeks of intermittent signs of constipation refractory to the medical management, occurring after surgical treatment for a bilateral sacroiliac luxation and sacral fracture. The clinical examination revealed instability of the pelvis and a radiograph showed a pelvic canal stenosis and megacolon. External fixator was the method of choice to be used in this case. The manually applied tension on an external fixator resulted in a widening of the pelvic canal. At 45 days after surgery, there were no signs of constipation, and the radiological examination showed progressive bone healing. At 18 months post-op, the cat had no abnormalities both on the clinical examination and on the radiography. In conclusion, the use of an external fixator led to the widening of the pelvic canal using a minimally invasive procedure. To the authors’ knowledge, this case report represents the first surgical description and clinical outcome of the widening of the pelvic canal in cats using an external skeletal fixator.