Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jun;22(6):575-581.
doi: 10.1177/1098612X19867516. Epub 2019 Aug 13.

Conservative management of sacroiliac luxation fracture in cats: medium- to long-term functional outcome

Frances G Bird  1 , Felipe de Vicente  1   2
Affiliations

Conservative management of sacroiliac luxation fracture in cats: medium- to long-term functional outcome

Frances G Bird et al. J Feline Med Surg. 2020 Jun.

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the functional medium- to long-term outcome for cats with a conservatively managed sacroiliac luxation fracture (SILF).

Methods: Inclusion criteria were conservative management of SILF in cats with no other concurrent fractures of the pelvic weightbearing axis and availability of radiographs for review. Radiographic measurements of percentage displacement of the sacroiliac joint and the sacral index were obtained and fracture configuration was assessed. A specific owner questionnaire was completed a minimum of 6 months after the injury. The questionnaire assessed the ability of the cat to perform normal activities, the time to recovery, any behavioural changes and any requirement for long-term analgesia.

Results: Seventeen cats met the inclusion criteria, and 13 owners completed the questionnaire. Twelve cats had an excellent outcome, with no difficulty performing normal activities. One cat had a good outcome, with slight or occasional difficulty performing normal activities.

Conclusions and relevance: Our study provides evidence to support the current guidelines of conservative management of SILF. The inherent bias of case selection in our population implies that this treatment cannot be recommended for all cases of SILF.

Keywords: Conservative management; follow-up; medium- to long-term; sacroiliac luxation fracture.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Ventrodorsal radiograph showing calculation of percentage displacement of the sacroiliac joint. ‘a’ indicates total length of the articular surface of the sacrum and ‘b’ indicates length of the incongruence of the sacroiliac joint
Figure 2
Figure 2
Ventrodorsal radiograph showing calculation of the sacral index. ‘S’ indicates the width of the cranial border of the sacrum and ‘A’ indicates the narrowest point of the pelvis measured between the medial cortices of the acetabular bones
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bookbinder PF, Flanders JA. Characteristics of pelvic fracture in the cat. Vet Comp Orthop Traumatol 1992; 5: 122–127.
    1. Meeson RL, Geddes AT. Management and long-term outcome of pelvic fractures: a retrospective study of 43 cats. J Feline Med Surg 2017; 19: 36–41. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Burger M. Sacroiliac luxation in the cat. Part 2: cases and results. Kleintierpraxis 2005; 50: 287–297.
    1. DeCamp CE, Johnston SA, Dejardin LMet al. Brinker, Piermattei and Flo’s handbook for small animal orthopaedics and fracture repair. 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders; 2016.
    1. Anderson A, Coughlan AR. Sacral fractures in dogs and cats: a classification scheme and review of 51 cases. J Small Anim Pract 1997; 38: 404–409. - PubMed