# Broken growth plate



## Lovesamoran (Mar 22, 2013)

I have a 4 month old French Bulldog that jumped off of the couch and broke the growth plate in her back leg. I'm not sure which bone is broken. My question is for anyone else that's dealt with this, what was the final outcome? She has a soft cast on right now and is going back in two weeks to be recasted. I've read so much information that my head feels like its spinning. I've read some that the bone healed itself, some the leg will not grow anymore, and some that's had their leg amputated. I'm just looking for anyone with this breed, that's had this break and near her age. Money is not an issue as far as future medical expenses, I'm just curious of what I might need to expect.


----------



## BernerMax (Mar 15, 2013)

Sorry no experience except.... that the young heal well and are pretty resilient.... as long as your vet knew what they are doing.... I think she will be ok (have to think that amputation is not that common and NOT IN YOUR Future!!!!).....!!!! Love her and nurture her, she will heal ok I am thinking.... Keep us Updated!


----------



## Lovesamoran (Mar 22, 2013)

She's quite spoiled at this point already, so love and nurturing, she's definitely not short on...lol. This is just the first time I've owned this breed and they are tough little cookies! She's shown no sign of pain since it happened, as a matter of a fact, she played with the assistant while the vet put the cast on. With pain tolerance that high, it's hard to tell if she's in pain or not and I just want to make sure she gets the absolute best treatment possible. As bad as it sounds, I've actually had people say, it's a shame you just paid that much for her and now she could be a 3 legged dog. That's like saying, it's a shame you put your child through medical school and he lost his memory. You do what's necessary and move forward regardless of outcome or expense. She still deserves the best life possible, deformed, 3 legged, or 100% normal. She's still gorgeous! I'll keep you posted on progress though!


----------



## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

No experience here with broken bones. I just want to say that you are a good dog parent .... and I am sending well wishes and prayers your way for a full and speedy recovery. I will also be looking for updates.


----------



## TTs Towel (May 22, 2012)

.......................


----------



## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

I do know of a show dog who had a growth plate injury as a young pup, the bone in the leg didn't grow as long as the other leg and it was easy to notice in x-rays but she appeared perfectly normal on the outside and even went on to finish her championship. I wish I had permission to share the x-ray because it was quite striking the difference between the leg bones, but she compensated flawlessly for the problem. Although her injury was to the femur not the lower leg.


----------



## Callison (Jul 9, 2013)

I have a 6 month old English Bulldog who recently fractured her grwoth plate in her knew. She has been in a hard cast for the last three weeks and confined pretty much in a crate with the exception of going outside to go potty. So far I am keeping my fingers crossed that she does not require surgery. According to my vet this is a pretty serious injury for these types of dogs and the healing process can be tricky depending on how active she is with the cast on. It has cost me over $1,000 just for the X-rays, changing the cast as it gets torn up from the Elizabeth collar that she has to wear. I have been told that normally puppies bones heal pretty quick and once the cast comes off I will still have to make sure that she is not putting a lot of stress on her back leg. Going down steps will not be a problem because she will have the weight on her front legs but going up steps I will have to carry her until she is completely healed so not to damage her growth plate even more. Good luck to you.


----------



## MrsBoats (May 20, 2010)

A close friend of mine who is a vet has a rescued pit bull female who broke a growth plate in a rear leg as a puppy. They elected to have surgery to fix it with metal hardware. Tillie the pit bull is an active dog who runs with her owner, works in competitive obedience, rally, and agility. Last year, Tillie was having some issues with the hardware in her leg, so they removed it. She is sound and currently running in NADAC and AKC agility trials (at a preferred or lower height) every other weekend a month. Tillie will be three in a week or two. She had a good outcome...but I'm certain having a veterinarian as an owner helped her a lot.


----------



## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

not in that breed butt a GSD pup,, who took a direct hit that closed their growth plates and the lower leg bone in the front leg stopped growing.. the general vets did not catch it and everyone was thinking it was typical pano.. the stress the growing bones put on the lower leg caused it to twist and the paw was pretty much turned backwards when they went to my orthopedic vet.. They broke the bone and put a growth plate (there were accessible screws) so they could adjust as the pup continued to grow.. Once the pup completed growth they went back in and put a permanent plate with no screws... Bailey lived an active life hiking the trails and mountains of CO passing of old age never having any further trouble with that leg. That is my only experience to share... sending good thoughts your way...


----------



## RammyDad (Mar 17, 2021)

Lovesamoran said:


> I have a 4 month old French Bulldog that jumped off of the couch and broke the growth plate in her back leg. I'm not sure which bone is broken. My question is for anyone else that's dealt with this, what was the final outcome? She has a soft cast on right now and is going back in two weeks to be recasted. I've read so much information that my head feels like its spinning. I've read some that the bone healed itself, some the leg will not grow anymore, and some that's had their leg amputated. I'm just looking for anyone with this breed, that's had this break and near her age. Money is not an issue as far as future medical expenses, I'm just curious of what I might need to expect.
> View attachment 55714
> View attachment 55714


----------



## RammyDad (Mar 17, 2021)

I get that this is an old post, but hopefully I can get a long term update... my 5 month old bitch failed at jumping on to the bed, and hurt her hind-right leg. She’s fractured a growth plate in her tibia and has had a dissolvable band put in. I’d really like to know how your gal got on..


----------



## DaySleepers (Apr 9, 2011)

The original poster hasn't been on the forums since the day after they made this post eight years ago, so I'm afraid it's very unlikely you're getting an answer. I'm going to close this thread to further replies due to this. I suggest you start a new thread so that you can get input from currently active members who might have experience with this kind of recovery or have been through it themselves.


----------

