My Final Project for Equine Orthopedics

A Sagittal P1 Fracture, In Limericks

A barrel racer whose phalanx was flimsy ,
took a quick turn on a whimsey.
Longitudinal stress persisted,
while his fetlock was twisted,
he grew quite lame and was put in a Kimzey.

He’d fractured his proximal phalanx, articular,
from the mid-sagittal groove in particular.
It was incomplete,
but not very discrete .
It was sagittal, not perpendicular.

Upon obtaining a dorsopalmar view ,
The vet said “There’s something askew.
It isn’t the best,
If it was smaller, you’d rest .
As it is, we’ll have to put in a screw.”

With a lag screw the bone was compressed.
The near cortex, the vet first addressed.
He drilled it to glide
and screw through the far side.
Perfect reduction was thusly possessed.

Thankful for the quick diagnosis,
the owner asked about further necrosis.
The owner was bracing
for bad news about racing,
but the vet gave a good prognosis .