Scintigraphic evaluation of tissue viability after gunshot injury in a dog

Triple-phase bone scintigraphy was used to evaluate tissue viability in the forelimb of a dog after gunshot injury. This technique was reliable, noninvasive, and easily performed. It was used to complement radiography by providing functional, rather than structural, assessment of tissues on the basis of regional vascular patterns. In this dog, vascular impairment caused by trauma appeared as photopenic or "cold" spots during immediate (vascular), soft tissue and bone phases of the scintigraphic study. On the basis of gross morphologic and scintigraphic findings, forelimb amputation was performed.