In this study we evaluate the contribution of external skeletal fixation devices and intramedullary pins in the functional recovery of healthy dogs. Sixteen healthy dogs have been divided into two experimental groups of 8 dogs each. The first group was submitted to external skeletal fixation devices and the second group was submitted to intramedullary pins in the left Tibia. The external skeletal fixation was taken out by the thirtieth day of the clinical evaluation. The dogs that were submitted to external fixation devices had functional recovery of the studied limb of 17.3 days (in average), while those submitted to intramedullary pins had the functional recovery of the limb in 4.2 days. We concluded that the intramedullary pins have less interference in the functional recovery of the affected limb when compared to the external skeletal fixation devices.
dogs; tibial fractures; external skeletal fixation; intramedullary pins; functional recovery
