“Taizo” is a 4 yr old male shihtzu who was rushed to us for attention after he returned from a jaunt on acreage with his mandible (lower jaw) flopped down & pointing to the ground. He had fractured his mandible on both sides behind his lower fang teeth exposing the bone & bleeding profusely.

 “Taizo” was given strong pain relief, anitbiotics & IV fluids & his mandible temporarily taped to his upper jaw until surgery was performed to repair the fracture & suture the torn lining to his mouth.

 

 

Instead of using plates & screws or pins within the bone we opted to use external skeletal fixation (ESF) which relies on the principle of connecting the separate sides of the fractures externally & not internally. Resembling a “meccano” set & because of the curved nature of the front of the jaw we used hardware shop epoxy “Kneadit” putty to connect a total of seven crosspins placed evenly around the jaw.

Within 18 hours of surgery “Taizo” was ravenously eating & within 6-8 weeks we removed the pins under a general anaesthetic and give him back a normal jaw.