From Pelican Harbor Seabird Station
Wondering why the death stare? Well, she has her reasons!
She was brought in after a kind finder spotted her with her leg dangling freely. X-rays confirmed a fracture of her left tibiotarsus, and Dr. S performed a procedure called pinning - or intramedullary pinning. This involves inserting a thin metal pin directly into the medullary canal (the hollow center) of the bone, acting as an internal scaffold that holds the two fractured segments in alignment while the bone heals around it.
Get it now? You wouldn’t be happy either - but she was extra happy when, once fully healed, she was released back where she belongs.
We’re a bit short on details, but I can show you how an intramedullary pin goes through the bone.
In the diagram, the acrylic bar is molded around the IM pin and 2 supporting pins. This helps keep the bone sections in place while the break heals. The support bar is called an external fixator.
I don’t see an external fixator in the photo, so perhaps one was not needed, as it’s a small bird?
IM pins can be put in through the skin and down into the bone so more invasive procedures aren’t required, and after the bone has healed, they can simply be pulled out.
Here is a previous post talking about IM pins and fixators, along with a really great story about a pelican you should read!
I’m too squeamish to do that sort of work on living beings, so I’m so glad there are people like you guys in the world to do such underappreciated work! Thank you!
It is so satisfying seeing an animal recover and thrive again! Most of them are hurt by something a human did, so it’s the least we can do.
We all do a lot of things we’d otherwise find creepy or gross to help our sick loved ones or pets, and this is just an extension of that love for the living things around us.
