Steven C. Budsberg, DVM, MS, DACVS

Fracture repair results in the creation of a bone-implant composite. Although most of our interventions for fracture repair are successful, at times it seems as though there are an endless number of errors that may prevent the fracture from healing. Fortunately, once the cause of the complication is recognized, the underlying problem can often be corrected and a successful outcome eventually attained.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used to control acute and chronic pain in veterinary patients. The presence and activity of two isoforms of the cyclooxygenase (COX) enzyme, a constitutive COX-1 and an inducible COX-2, have been investigated intensely since the early 1990s.

The ability to diagnose the cause of a lameness is essential to the small animal clinician. In our day to day practice settings, dogs and cats present with a variety of lamenesses. Many of these problems resolve with rest, or a diagnosis is readily available (cut pad, ingrown nail, etc?).

While considered a very common problem in small animal medicine, osteoarthritis is very likely the most under diagnosed, and misunderstood rheumatic disease in dogs and cats. Part of the problem veterinarians face with OA is that it is a slow, progressive and often insidious problem.

It is important to understand that when a dog presents with a dog with hip laxity (hip dysplasia) with or without secondary degenerative changes, that there is not one single way to manage every patient. Initially, one must decide if a particular patient is better suited for medical or surgical options.

Metallic implants placed in the body should be corrosion-resistant, biocompatible, and must have adequate strength to withstand functional stress. Corrosion of metal occurs because of the electrochemical ions in body fluid. Most metal implants currently used in veterinary surgery are of 316L stainless steel.

A working definition of antimicrobial prophylaxis in surgery is the administration of an antimicrobial drug to a patient, in the absence of infection, prior to surgery. The history of the use of these agents during surgery is interesting and reveals many of the problems which occur with their use.

Our efforts to halt the growing obesity problem appear to have had little effect.

Osteoarthritis is the most common rheumatic disease encountered in small animal practice. No longer is osteoarthritis regarded as a simple consequence of aging and cartilage degeneration, but rather, the pathologic changes of osteoarthritis may result from active biochemical and biomechanical processes partly due to disturbances of the homeostatic mechanisms of anabolic and catabolic pathways. As to the cause of osteoarthritis, there is no one etiology and its cause may be multifactorial. While there are many initiating causes, osteoarthritis is an irreversible process that often results in an end-stage clinical syndrome of the joint.