Introduction

Meet Paco, a male Sicilian donkey who was admitted to the University of Georgia Veterinary Teaching Hospital to evaluate lameness in his left front leg.

At the time of admission he was 5 months-old and weighed a whopping 115 lbs. Paco had injured his leg four weeks earlier when he managed to get tangled up in wire fencing. For a time after the injury Paco was unable to put weight on the injured leg, but according to his owner, the lameness had gradually improved.

When Paco arrived at the Vet School he was bright and alert, and in good overall physical condition, except that something was obviously still wrong with his leg. Xrays showed that Paco had actually broken his leg, and because the break had never been set properly, the leg had healed crookedly.

This picture shows Paco after his leg was fixed, but the medical procedure that returned his leg to normal was quite complex. Here's Paco's Story.

^  Top of page