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Osteosynthesis in Birds Osteosynthesis has been applied to birds for several decades. The progress made in the general anaesthesia of pet birds has led to a momentous increase in the use of osteosynthesis. Additionally, the emotional value of birds as pets makes owners ready to invest in the cost and care required in connection with fracture repair. The choice of treatment depends on the type and localisation of the fracture, the avian species, but also on the financial possibilities of the owner and the technical skills of the veterinarian. External fixation has found a special place in avian surgery and represents the treatment of choice in many cases. Recent developments in the miniaturisation of plates led to the use of such systems in bird fracture repair as well.
Our clinic promotes the use of the FESSA system via research. Apart from the type 1 and type 2 systems, the transarticular external fixation for the stabilisation of luxations is of interest.
The use of various plate systems for fracture repair has been and is being investigated in factures of the ulna in pigeons. Other species and localisations, and other plate systems, will follow.
The special anatomy of avian bone results in an increased frequency of comminuted fractures. In open fractures, individual fragments are often lost, and therefore the use of transplants is often necessary. The use of artificial implants in birds has hardly been investigated. Because of the established research focus on the use of biomaterials in fracture repair, there is an excellent opportunity for cooperation with an already existing interdisciplinary research group that shall be realized in the future.
In the course of a dissertation on luxation repair, it was shown that the histological evaluation of fracture healing in birds has hardly been investigated. The material collected during our experimental studies represents a continuously growing collection of fractured bones in various stages of repair, which will, once a critical sample size is reached, be evaluated in the future in order to characterise the histological states of avian fracture healing.
Knowledge gained by research is spread by publications and presentations. We aim to develop a course on avian osteosynthesis that will help to disseminate the application of new techniques in the form of workshops or wet-labs at conferences or during seminars for practitioners.
