3 Apr 2026
Vets saved the rabbit’s leg using a stainless-steel external skeletal fixation system.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
Brumpy has recovered well since the procedure to save his leg.
A rabbit is enjoying a new lease of life after vets managed to save its broken leg using advanced orthopaedic apparatus and specialist multidisciplinary care.
Five-year-old dwarf breed rabbit Brumpy was referred to the University of Edinburgh’s Hospital for Small Animals with a comminuted antebrachial fracture in his left forelimb, suffered in an accident at home.
His case was said to be technically demanding; due to his small size, the highly fragmented nature of the fracture, and the fragility of his radius and ulna – measuring just 2.5mm thick at the fracture site – Brumpy was said to be at significant risk of iatrogenic injury.
To save the limb, orthopaedic surgeons stabilised it under general anaesthesia with a reusable stainless-steel external skeletal fixation system, the Fixateur Externe du Service de Santé des Armées (FESSA).
The FESSA’s lightweight modular design, just 4.5cm in length, made it well-suited to a patient of Brumpy’s size and allowed rapid application and subsequent adjustment.
The rabbit was able to return home after several days of post-operative support at the hospital and returned eight weeks later for the external fixator – which used pins less than 1mm in length – to be removed.
After another two months of graduated return to normal activity, Brumpy’s owner reported he is back to performing “binkies” – excited leaps and twists said to express happiness.
RCVS specialist in small animal surgery Dylan Clements said: “We’re delighted with how well Brumpy has recovered from his injuries.
“Thanks to the specialist multidisciplinary care and expertise we can provide through the Dick Vet Rabbit and Exotic Practice at the Hospital for Small Animals, we can confidently treat complex fractures in small animals such as Brumpy.”