{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T04:30:59Z","timestamp":1787027459449,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,2]],"date-time":"2025-02-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1738454400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Health and medical University Potsdam"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Fracture healing in dogs is a complex process influenced by factors such as age, weight, fracture type, and underlying conditions. Among fractures, complex diaphyseal comminuted fractures stand out due to their susceptibility to complications like delayed union or nonunion. Despite the recognized complexities, veterinary-specific data on their incidence, complications, and effective treatment strategies remain surprisingly scarce. This retrospective study analyzed 99 comminuted fractures among 542 long bone fractures treated at the Small Animal Clinic of the Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin (2007\u20132014). The femur (n = 42) was most affected, followed by the tibia\/fibula (n = 29), radius\/ulna (n = 24), and humerus (n = 4). Plates (n = 81) and intramedullary pins or external fixators (n = 16) were used for osteosynthesis. Healing occurred without complications in 72%, while 28% experienced issues such as implant failure or delayed union. Open fractures, high-energy trauma, and &gt;3 fragments were associated with higher complication rates (p &lt; 0.05). Fractures treated with plates healed slower (p = 0.016), and implants were removed later compared to other methods (p = 0.049). This study highlights the challenges of managing complex fractures and emphasizes the need for tailored surgical approaches. It provides new insights into their treatment and outcomes, paving the way for future research to establish standardized veterinary protocols.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani15030413","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,3]],"date-time":"2025-02-03T08:47:57Z","timestamp":1738572477000},"page":"413","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Healing of Comminuted Fractures of Long Bones in Dogs"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-0630-1326","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mario","family":"Candela Andrade","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Health and Medical University, 14471 Potsdam, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Franziska","family":"Petereit","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Kleintierzentrum Mainfranken, 97076 W\u00fcrzurg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pavel","family":"Slunsky","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AniCura Small Animal Clinic Augsburg, 86157 Augsburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ignacio","family":"de Rus Aznar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shoulder Surgery Unit, Orthopaedic and Traumatology Department, CEMTRO Clinic, 28003 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Leo","family":"Brunnberg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Small Animal Clinic, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin, 14163 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"330","DOI":"10.2460\/javma.2003.223.330","article-title":"Use of a plate-rod construct and principles of biological osteosynthesis for repair of diaphyseal fractures in dogs and cats: 47 cases (1994\u20132001)","volume":"223","author":"Reems","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. 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