Limb sparing using a double bone-transport technique for treatment of a distal tibial osteosarcoma in a dog

To evaluate the treatment of a spontaneously occurring osteosarcoma in a dog by means of tumor resection and bone regeneration of a 12-cm defect using double bone transport.

Case report.

An 11 year-old client-owned German shepherd.

After tumor resection, a preassambled Ilizarov frame was secured to the proximal tibia and to the tarso-metatarsal region. Two osteotomies were performed in the proximal metaphysis. The two bone segments were transfixed with 1.5-mm-diameter wires, each secured to a ring, and bone transport was performed until the distal segment reached the talar surface. Cisplatin was administered 14, 35, and 59 days after surgery.

Bone regenerate was first visible radiographically 4 weeks after surgery. The frame was removed 162 days after surgery. The hock was protected with a plaster cast because the tarsal arthrodesis was not complete. The dog underwent tibiotarsal arthrodesis 201 days after osteosarcoma resection. The dog died of metastatic disease 239 days after the initial surgery.

Even though this dog died of systemic metastases, local recurrence did not develop. Cisplatin chemotherapy did not appear to negatively affect bone regeneration.

To our knowledge, the double transport technique has not been previously described in the veterinary literature. In this dog, this technique decreased the duration of treatment compared with a conventional single-segment transport technique.