Clyde’s Story
Domestic Short Hair
Age 3½ years

      After being hit by a car in October, Clyde sustained a comminuted fracture of his right tibia and fibula, multiple fractures of his pelvis, and significant soft tissue damage to his left hind leg and paw. 

      After initial stabilization at an emergency hospital, Dr. Howard took Clyde to surgery to repair his injuries. He reduced the fracture in Clyde’s right tibia and stabilized it with the use of a device called an external skeletal fixator. He then used a screw to stabilize the worst of Clyde’s pelvic fractures internally.

     Exploration of the trauma to Clyde’s left hind leg revealed disruption to a ligament and a tendon in his ankle. To address this, Dr. Howard used strong suture to reconstruct the damaged structures, and the leg was splinted to protect the surgical repair. During surgery, Dr. Howard also found that the skin along Clyde’s back had separated from the muscle of his body. He reconstructed the skin with sutures and placed a close-suction drain to remove excess fluid from the area.

     Clyde recovered well from his surgery, and after an extended stay at CVRC, he went home with his family. Within the next two weeks, Clyde learned to get around with assistance. Unfortunately, one and a half weeks out of surgery, Clyde did not urinate for a period of 36 hours and was becoming increasingly fractious due to his discomfort. Dr. Howard was concerned that Clyde had sustained nerve damage from his pelvic fractures. He sent Clyde home on a medication to stimulate contraction of the bladder and elimination of urine, and with time, Clyde was able to urinate comfortably. 

     Clyde’s next hurdle came three weeks out of surgery when the skin along his back that had separated from the body wall began to die due to compromised blood supply. Luckily, only the top layers of skin were involved and Clyde didn’t require a second surgery to address the wound. Within two weeks, the wound was healing well with no signs of infection.

     Nearly four months out of surgery, radiographs revealed that the fractures were healing well, and Dr. Howard was able to remove Clyde’s ESF and splint.  Clyde was able to get up and walk without assistance, and underwent rehabilitation at home to regain strength in his hind limbs. Clyde is now eight months out of surgery and Dr. Howard has cleared him to return to his normal activity level. Although he is no longer an outdoor cat, Clyde is happy running, jumping and playing in the house.