Just came across this stunning news about a dog whose broken leg was healed by UC Davis veterinarians with a "new procedure being used in veterinary medicine that involves regrowing bone with the use of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)."

The surgery had a ONE PERCENT chance of success, but the parents went for it. After several months of being hospitalized at UC Davis to carefully manage the recovery, the dog's leg was healed and she's running around again. Crazy! Check it out:

UC Davis Veterinary Orthopedic Surgeons Regrow Dog’s Leg Bone

“Case of the Month” – November 2018

A UC Davis veterinary patient is being described as a miracle by her owner. When Ethel, a 2-year-old Yorkshire terrier, was rescued by MaryAnn Lawson, the rambunctious pup was in a cast for a broken leg. Unfortunately, two previous surgeries failed to properly heal her broken right ulna and radius (equivalent to both bones in a human’s forearm). Lawson forged on and consulted with other veterinary orthopedic surgeons, all of whom recommended amputating the leg.

When Lawson asked the orthopedic specialists about other options, one mentioned a new procedure being used in veterinary medicine that involves regrowing bone with the use of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), but felt that the procedure was not advanced enough to fix Ethel’s severe break. After leaving the consultation, Lawson started researching BMP and ultimately was referred to Dr. Amy Kapatkin with the Orthopedic Surgery Service at the UC Davis veterinary hospital. UC Davis has been utilizing BMP to regrow bones in dog jaws and legs since 2012.

Dr. Kapatkin agreed to take on the surgery but thought that there was only a one percent chance to save the leg. Although BMP grows bone effectively, the bone still needs to be stabilized with a bone plate to work. Ethel had 50 percent of her distal radius gone and her remaining bone was smaller than most bone plates made. Lawson agreed to allow Dr. Kapatkin to amputate once in surgery if it was determined that the use of BMP was not appropriate in Ethel’s case. But that turned out to not be necessary.  

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