Fractured elbows are something of a spaniel speciality. It's not just that they are active dogs, they appear to have a weakness in the bone in the elbow and any fracture like this will need surgery for the elbow joint to function well.

This is a radiograph taken at the end of surgery. The fracture has been repaired so that the elbow joint should be fully functional. The screw provides compression across the fracture to encourage healing but a pin is also needed to prevent any rotation of the fragment

Cat versus car. This is so badly smashed that amputation would be a real option

Healing well and certainly good enough to be functional. Over the years bone remodelling will occur with use and the femur (thigh bone) will become more and more normal. Bones react to the pull of ligaments and muscle and weight bearing to become stronger and internal fixation (as opposed to a plaster cast) encourages early weight bearing and aids healing. This cat now walks normally

This quite an odd one where a labrador has got a nasty fracture of the top of his tibia (shin bone). If this isn't fixed then he would get awful arthritis in his stifle (knee) and the leg would be both painful and non functional

This is the same fracture but the radiograph is taken from front to back. At least 2 views are always needed to assess a fracture properly

Sometimes we need to take a radiograph during the surgery to ensure it is all going to plan.

Looks pretty well aligned now and the repair should be strong enough to cope with 30+kg of labrador bouncing around on it (though we do advise lead rest whilst it is healing!)

....and here is the lateral view (side on) which looks like it is a good strong and anatomically accurate repair.

A bit of a fiddle with a foot here!

This was a challenge; a young dachshund who had a serious road accident leaving her pelvis in pieces and and a broken femur

It took 3 seperate operations to fix her pelvis and femur. She has now made a full recovery and is running around on Filey beach!