Surgical treatment of bilateral distal femoral Salter-Harris type I fractures in a juvenile southern hairy-nosed wombat

We report a case of a 13-month-old 7.5 kg male hand-raised orphaned southern hairy-nosed wombat that presented with progressive hindlimb lameness and reluctance to move. Radiographs revealed bilateral distal femoral Salter-Harris fractures with caudal displacement of the epiphyseal fragments. His hip radiographs exhibited some changes in his femoral capital epiphyses suggestive of epiphyseal dysplasia. Surgical correction of the position of the distal femoral epiphyses was performed bilaterally and their corrected position maintained using crossed Kirschner wires. He exhibited steady recovery over four months and was rehabilitated on a wombat sanctuary where he is active and apparently normal. We highlight this case to add to the limited resources available for this species as well as to comment on the mechanism of injury that was likely to have been forcible removal by his hindlimbs from his deceased mother's pouch