Niya is a five-year-old female Siberian Husky that recently fell a height of four storeys. She’s lucky to be alive, because you can never tell what amount of damage she might have suffered purely from the elevation of the fall. One thing is for sure – she was in a lot of pain.
This reminded me of another case I had worked on as a young vet when I needed to attend to a police dog that had leapt over one of the low boundary walls that enclosed the roof of the Mediterranean Conference Centre, thinking it extended to the other side – only to find nothing but void. Amazingly, the dog had got away with barely a scratch.
In this case, Niya’s owners informed me she was accustomed to going up on the roof of their house to do her business. Niya is well-known in the neighbourhood for her bravery in walking along the roof walls with impunity. So it came as a big shock to her when she missed her step and fell four storeys.
Siberian Huskies, Samoyeds and Alaskan Malamutes are all breeds that have become popular in Malta, and all derive from far-Northern Husky-type dogs that are used to pull sledges over long distances in deep snow.
Whenever I see one of these animals, particularly when they are kept in good condition and perfectly trained, I am reminded of how beautiful they can be and, invariably, of the epic film by Kevin Costner Dances with Wolves, which depicted so evocatively that close canine relation to the husky.
Accidents apart, huskies are sometimes known to suffer from seizures and a few eye defects. On a positive note, these dogs have a very low incidence of hip dysplasia, which tends to prevail among the larger breeds that are most at risk.
But an accident is what got Niya unawares. She missed her step but was very lucky that, on the way down, her fall was broken by washing lines that caught her between her legs. She was in a lot of pain but still alive.
Her breathing was a bit shallow and fast and she couldn’t use her left hind leg at all. We dealt with the most urgent item first. Chest X-rays were taken to ensure there was no rupture or hernia of the diaphragm.
The diaphragm is a dome of muscle that separates the chest from the abdominal contents and is also the primary muscle for respiration. It is always something to bear in mind when any dog or cat suffers a sudden severe trauma. Niya’s diaphragm was still intact.
Next thing was to find out what was wrong with her leg. Upon examination, it was clear that the problem lay in the pelvis. Only an X-ray can differentiate between the possible injuries – a broken pelvis, a fracture of the femur or upper leg or, as in Niya’s case, a luxation of the femur.
The femur joins the pelvis with a ball-and-socket joint, which is a beautiful piece of work, as it allows the maximum of rotation movement. The best way to visualise this joint is to imagine one hand in a tight fist acting as the femoral head being cupped by the other hand, which would be the joint receiving it as part of the pelvis.
When subjected to a heavy blow, the femoral head can, literally, come out of its socket, and because of the tight nature of the anatomy, not be able to return into its natural place. Luxation is the complete dislocation of a joint and the coxofemoral joint, which is the joint we are talking about, and the classical joint where this can occur.
As with most bone problems, it is best to have these treated as soon as possible. Luxation of the femoral head carries with it a certain amount of ligament damage, and the longer it is left out of place, the more difficult it becomes to reduce and for it to remain in place following reduction.
After a day of painkillers, when respiration had improved sufficiently to be able to anaesthetise Niya, the leg was manoeuvred back into place – much to the delight of Niya’s family, not to mention Niya herself.
This form of luxation does carry with it a certain amount of ligament and soft-tissue damage. We are all hoping the reduction of the luxation will be permanent… and that Niya will no longer ‘walk the walk’.
thisweekwiththevet@gmail.com
Dr Martin Debattista is a veterinary surgeon.