Surgical Treatment of Coccygeal Fractures in Fat–Tailed Sheep

Abstract

Fat–tailed sheep are a common breed in many parts of the world, and coccygeal fractures occur in these animals due to various traumas. As a result of these fractures, fracture hematoma occurs in the region and subsequently gangrene occurs due to circulatory impairment in the region. If the gangrened area is not treated, an open wound will form, and infection will be inevitable due to its relationship with the external environment. From this infected area, it causes sepsis and more serious complications that deteriorate the general condition of the creature, causing general condition disorders. However, it can be treated by surgical partial extirpation of the area where the coccygeal fracture occurs. In this study, the long–term recovery period of a total of 30 adult fat–tailed sheep and rams with coccygeal fractures treated with operative inverted V incision is followed. While all cases are observed to have recovered, it is observed that their productivity characteristics continued normal along with their walking and adaptation to herd management. It is concluded that the partial extirpation method, which is both cheap and effective, can be used in fat–tailed sheep with coccygeal fractures and can be applied in clinical practice. It is observed that the inverted V incision partial extirpation operative technique is both an effective treatment option and prevented economic losses in fat–tailed sheep.

Keywords

• Fat–tailed sheep
• fatty tail healing
• partial tail extirpation
• tail operation