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Case Reports: Five dogs (4 with severe carpal contracture, 1 with a chronically infected carpal joint) underwent antebrachiometacarpal arthrodesis. Excision of all carpal bones, except the accessory carpal bone, was done, either because of persistent infection or to allow the manus to be arthrodesed in a functional position. All five dogs developed varying degrees of soft tissue swelling of the surgical site following surgery. All five arthrodeses achieved complete osseous union within 4-67 weeks. The immediate postoperative distal radiometacarpal frontal plane angulation ranged from 1° to 19° (mean ± SD: 7 ± 8°). The immediate postoperative distal radiometacarpal sagittal plane angulation ranged from 6° to 26° (mean ± SD: 17 ± 9°). Plate coverage of the secured metacarpal bone(s) ranged from 75% to 87% (mean ± SD: 80 ± 4%). Infection necessitated plate removal in four dogs, 3-17 (mean ± SD: 8 ± 6) months following surgery and 0-15 (mean ± SD: 5 ± 7) weeks following radiographic documentation of complete osseous union., Conclusion: Despite one dog having marked elbow incongruency and degenerative joint disease and one dog having an ipsilateral radial nerve deficit, all five dogs improved and had acceptable limb function at the time of the final evaluation, which ranged from 25 to 296 (mean ± SD: 99 ± 111) weeks following surgery., (© 2019 Australian Veterinary Association.)

Objective: To report clinical outcome and complications after pancarpal arthrodesis using circular external skeletal fixation (CESF) in dogs., Study Design: Retrospective study., Animals: Dogs (n=9) with carpal injury., Methods: Medical records including radiographs (10 limbs) with underlying severe carpal injury that had pancarpal arthrodesis with CESF were reviewed. Short-term follow-up (>6 months) was obtained by phone interview of owners., Results: Mean weight was 24.5 kg (range, 10.1-69.5 kg). Mean duration until CESF removal was 110.6 days (range, 72-149 days). Complications in all dogs were mild postoperative edema of the distal aspect of the limb and initial mild serous discharge form exit points of CSEF wires. Follow-up (mean, 328 days; range, 190-541 days) was available for 8 dogs. All owners reported limb function and cosmesis as being excellent, and perceived that their animals were pain free. Perception of fixator care difficulty, as reported by owners, varied significantly based on previous splint management experience; owners who had experienced splint management for >1 month found fixator care equal to or easier than splint management., Conclusion: Pancarpal arthrodesis with a CESF produces a favorable clinical outcome with high owner acceptance., Clinical Relevance: Pancarpal arthrodesis by use of CESF is a clinically applicable technique and may offer advantages over internal fixation with respect to postoperative complications.