21/01/2011 Accident left young dog unable to walk

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Three year old Mitzi, a German Shepherd dog has been fitted with a false foot, she is the first dog to have had this operation. The dog, from Dorchester, was trampled on by a horse which cut of Mitzi’s nerve and blood supply.

Her surgeon, Professor Gordon Blunt from University College London, inserted a titanium implant in her ankle which is now attached to her artificial foot which allows the dog to move her foot like any other dog.

Mitzi’s walk had to be modeled using CGI technology and the resulting foot was created to absorb the shock from the ground when she moved. The implant was also modeled so that it would also break off freely from the implant or her bone did if needed.

Dr Fitzpatrick was happy with the result of the operation saying that she can now run around just like any other dog he said “There was always a risk that the exoprosthesis could actually break when Mitzi ran off her lead, so it truly was a nail-biting moment for me last week when she was let off the lead for the first time.”

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