Congenital deformity of the paw in a captive tiger: case report

BMC Veterinary Research

Case Report

Kathleen Linn¹  Reinaldo S Volpi²  Carlos Ramires Neto³  Sheila C Rahal³  Vania MV Machado³  Carlos R Teixeira³  Guilherme DP Soares³ 

[1] Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada;Department of Surgery and Orthopedics, School of Medicine, Univ Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil;Department of Veterinary Surgery and Anesthesiology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Univ Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil;

关键词: Dexmedetomidine;    Meloxicam;    Infrared Thermography;    Proximal Phalanx;    Metacarpal Bone;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1746-6148-8-98

 received in 2012-03-12, accepted in 2012-06-14,  发布年份 2012

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe aim of this report was to describe the clinical signs, diagnostic approach, treatment and outcome in the case of a tiger with a deformity of the paw.Case presentationA 1.5-year-old tiger (Panthera tigris) was presented with lameness of the left thoracic limb. A deformity involving the first and second metacarpal bones, and a soft tissue separation between the second and third metacarpal bones of the left front paw were observed. The second digit constantly struck the ground during locomotion. Based on the physical and radiographic evaluations, a diagnosis of ectrodactyly was made. A soft tissue reconstruction of the cleft with excision of both the second digit and distal portion of the second metacarpal bone was performed. Marked improvement of the locomotion was observed after surgical treatment, although the tiger showed a low degree of lameness probably associated with the discrepancy in length between the thoracic limbs.ConclusionThis report shows a rare deformity in an exotic feline that it is compatible to ectrodactyly. Reconstructive surgery of the cleft resulted in significant improvement of limb function.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Rahal et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2012