Does every fracture need surgery?

EMReviewed by Eben Martin, Veterinary Surgeon · Updated August 2026

No. Simple, stable, well aligned fractures in the right locations, especially in young animals, can heal in a cast or splint. But most significant fractures in adult dogs and cats do best with surgical repair, and pretending otherwise usually trades a surgical bill now for a malunion and a bigger bill later.

  • Casting can genuinely work for: stable fractures below the elbow or knee, minimally displaced breaks, and young fast healing animals
  • Surgery is strongly favoured for: femur and humerus fractures, joint involvement, multiple fragments, open fractures and almost everything in adult large dogs
  • Amputation earns a place when: the limb cannot be reconstructed, nerve damage has destroyed function, or finances make repair impossible and the alternative is euthanasia

The malunion trap

Bones want to heal. Left alone, most will, in whatever position they happen to be lying. A femur that heals two centimetres short and rotated is a healed fracture and a ruined leg. This is why the honest question is never will it heal but will it heal straight, stable and pain free. X-rays answer that question, and an independent surgeon can read yours in minutes.

Told casting will not work for your pet?

Send the x-rays. We will tell you honestly whether surgery is the only road. From $250.

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Common questions

The fracture is healing crooked. Do we intervene now or wait?

Sooner is almost always cheaper and kinder than later. Correcting a healing malposition is a smaller job than re breaking and realigning a healed one. If you are watching a crooked callus form with a sinking feeling, get an opinion this week, not after the recheck next month.

My kitten's fracture: cast or surgery?

Kittens and puppies heal astonishingly fast, which widens the casting window considerably. But their growth plates also raise stakes: a fracture through a growth plate needs precise handling to avoid a deformed adult limb. Age helps; it does not remove the need for good x-rays and judgement.

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