28 Apr 2022
Two-year-old Weimaraner fractured knee cap after careering down Cumbrian hill and into a wooden stake, but was treated at Kentdale Referrals.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
Vets at Kentdale Referrals helped get two-year-old Weimaraner Max back on his paws after suffering a fractured patella while on a Lake District romp through the hills.
Max careered down a hill and into a wooden stake, leaving his owner – on the second day of a 10-day holiday 150 miles from home – having to carry him off the hillside and search for a vet.
He was referred to Kentdale, in Milnthorpe, Cumbria, for emergency surgery to repair his fracture.
Kentdale’s Gemma Holloway, an ECVS resident in small animal surgery, who took charge of the case, said: “The owner told me Max had run into a wooden post and x-rays confirmed he had a fractured patella. Patella fractures can be difficult to manage, with a high risk of it not healing, so this was not a straightforward case.
“Max was taken to surgery where we made an internal fixation of the patella using wire, tension bands and a tibial patella suture.
“Then an external fixator was applied to immobilise the joint to stop any movement or pull from surrounding muscles, which could cause the fixation to fail.
“The external fixator remained in place for six weeks, and two weeks later, he started an intense course of physiotherapy and rehabilitation.”
Max’s owner Martin Sands, from Lutterworth in Leicestershire, said: “Max is good, to the point where you wouldn’t know he had a serious injury if it wasn’t for the scars on his leg.
“He is still having physio, which should be ending next month and he’s made really good progress.
“Kentdale were absolutely amazing, from the front of house team right through to Gemma the vet who operated on Max.”
