SURGICAL TREATMENT OF OSTEOARTHRITIS IN HARBOR SEALS (PHOCA VITULINA)

In 2012, 543 harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) and 124 grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) were admitted to the Seal Rehabilitation and Research Centre in Pieterburen, The Netherlands. In 19 seals (3%), signs of infection in a hind flipper were observed. Initial treatment consisting of antibiotics and anti-...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of zoo and wildlife medicine 2015-09, Vol.46 (3), p.553-559
Main Authors: García, Ana Rubio, Contreras, Guillermo J. Sánchez, Acosta, Cristina Juliá, Lacave, Géraldine, Prins, Pier, Marck, Klaas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amputation
Amputation - veterinary
Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use
Bacterial Infections - microbiology
Bacterial Infections - pathology
Bacterial Infections - veterinary
CASE SERIES
common seal
Halichoerus grypus
harbor seal
Hindlimb - pathology
Hindlimb - surgery
osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis - microbiology
Osteoarthritis - surgery
Osteoarthritis - veterinary
Phoca
Phoca vitulina
Wadden Sea
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Summary:In 2012, 543 harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) and 124 grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) were admitted to the Seal Rehabilitation and Research Centre in Pieterburen, The Netherlands. In 19 seals (3%), signs of infection in a hind flipper were observed. Initial treatment consisting of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs resolved the symptoms in 15 animals. In four harbor seals, estimated to be 3 to 4 mo old, a necrotizing infection developed that resulted in osteoarthritis of the tarsus or tibiotarsal joint or both. Bacterial culture revealed the presence of polymicrobial infection in three of the four animals. Treatment consisted of amputation of the hind flipper under general anesthesia combined with tumescent anesthesia in the operation field. Amputations were done at the diaphysis of the tibia and fibula. After resecting these bones, the flipper was discarded, leaving a good muscle-skin cuff to cover the edges of the bones and close the skin without tension. The estimated blood loss varied between
ISSN:1042-7260
1937-2825
DOI:10.1638/2014-0229.1