Tarsal Bone dislocation.

[Gm81]

So my dog hurt his leg on Sunday. Just hopping about and doesn't seem to bothered. Just assumed he had a thorn in his foot but this wasn't the case. Well after some swelling on Sunday night and he would rather fall over than stand on it. Vets today and an x-ray shows a dislocated bone on his rear left.
Apparently it should screw in and we have to hope there is no fracture. It looks good on x-ray. But the vet said he won't be that mobile and won't work again.
Is this likely, anyone had similar? Not being able to do what he loves is where I draw the line for my dogs. So I'm looking for rational thought. What is really likely as I've no idea how a screw in that bone will affect an 9 yr old dog. Will he run again, go up hill, track deer and just do what he loves?
Thanks for the input.

 

[Selous]

I am assuming from your message that the talocrural joint (top level where the movement occurs) is not affected by the injury. If it is just an isolated luxated central tarsal bone then the prognosis can be very good and normal function resumed after an appropriate period of time. I normally try to fuse at least one joint surface when treating such injuries. Good outcomes are often achieved where fractures are present but greater levels of support may be needed and often surgical fusion of the low motion joints gives an optimal outcome which is called a partial tarsal arthrodesis. The difficulty is recognising if the tarsal bones have luxated or also fractured which is where a CT scan can be very useful. The key is to accurately identify the extent of the injury before attempting surgery and finding out it is more severe during the procedure.

 

[Selous]

Injuries involving the central tarsal bone in nonracing dogs: Short-term outcomes and prognostic factors - PubMed

Short-term outcomes seem favorable in nonracing dogs with isolated Tc fractures, but dogs with concomitant tarsal fractures are predisposed to major complications.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Gm81]

I am assuming from your message that the talocrural joint (top level where the movement occurs) is not affected by the injury. If it is just an isolated luxated central tarsal bone then the prognosis can be very good and normal function resumed after an appropriate period of time. I normally try to fuse at least one joint surface when treating such injuries. Good outcomes are often achieved where fractures are present but greater levels of support may be needed and often surgical fusion of the low motion joints gives an optimal outcome which is called a partial tarsal arthrodesis. The difficulty is recognising if the tarsal bones have luxated or also fractured which is where a CT scan can be very useful. The key is to accurately identify the extent of the injury before attempting surgery and finding out it is more severe during the procedure.

So this isn't his x-ray. But the one I can find nearest to what I saw. I have circled the area that had one piece of bone that looks to have moved it sideways. It all looks in one piece. Wasn't broken bits or shading. The x-rays were really clear, better than mine when I had a knee joint injury. I will try and get them today.

The outcomes look favourable in the study. He just might not be coming out on the quad anymore. I'm sure he would keep up with a 70yr old (father) or me stalking on foot.

Thank you for taking the time to look and comment on this.

 

[Buchan]

I'll await the gaffer's response, but that area is the lower motion joints and he'll probably be fine. But I just do parasites these days!

 

[Gm81]

I'll await the gaffer's response, but that area is the lower motion joints and he'll probably be fine. But I just do parasites these days!

Selous has been a massive help and I'm very grateful. Dog ownership is tough at the minute. Our Vizsla had a reoccurance of his MMA again. So I seem to be at the vets all the time. This dog was the war horse that's never been ill.
Again I thank you for the time you put I to this forum. Settling our worries and questions

 

[Gm81]

I've added the x-rays incase anyone is interested.