Pelvic Fractures in the Cat When, Which, Why, What and How to Repair Them

When to repair?
When the cat is stable for anaesthesia. the majority of pelvic fractures occur after signif- icant trauma and the animal should be assessed and investigated carefully for life threatening diseases such as thoracic or urinary tract problems prior to anaesthesia for investigation or repair of its pelvic fractures.

Which cats need consideration for repair?
If the cat is non ambulatory, has neurological deficits with widely displaced fracture fragments or narrowing of the pelvic canal, if there are acetabular fractures and frac- tures affecting the weight bearing axis. if the narrowing of the pelvic canal of more than 45% due to displaced fracture fragments then these cats will benefit from surgery to widen the pelvic canal.

Why repair?
Consideration should be given to reduce and stabilise feline ilial fractures to alleviate pain and give the cats an earlier return to function, and to prevent future problems from a malunion. although it could be argued that non surgical treatment will also achieve pain relief and return to function, even if more slowly than after surgery, this may be suitable in selected cases. those that really benefit from surgery are those in severe pain, perhaps with sciatic entrapment or ventral displaced hemipelvis. Cats with multi- ple pelvic limb injuries will particularly benefit from surgery over conservative manage- ment to restore their ability to ambulate. Surgery to restore a reasonable pelvic canal diameter is done is order to prevent future potentially life shortening complications such as constipation and megacolon. [...]