Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Veterinary surgeons at Oklahoma State University announced they successfully performed a corrective procedure on a puppy born with her paws upside-down.
OSU's College of Veterinary Medicine, which previously made headlines for performing a similar procedure on a dog named Milo, said the rat terrier puppy, Siggi, was born with her paws facing upward instead of downward.
"As with Milo, Siggi's problem looked like it was in the paws, but it was actually in her elbows," Dr. Erik Clary, who performed the surgeries on both canines, said in a news release.
"For reasons not fully understood, these patients' elbows come out of joint early in life and the result is severe rotation of the lower front limbs and an inability to walk. At most, they might muster a crawl that seems most uncomfortable and is poorly suited for a dog's life," Clary said.
Clary said Siggi's case was found to be even more complicated than Milo's because of a deformity in the lower part of her elbow.
"The CT helped us plan a more complex procedure that would require an intentional break high up in her ulna bone to de-rotate the limb," Clary said.
Siggi underwent surgery May 12. Oklahoma State said her splints have been removed and she is learning to walk.
"Lorraine, her medical foster with Dallas Dog RRR, did a fabulous job implementing an incremental rehabilitation regimen that now has Siggi doing many things that puppies like to do, including chasing a ball in the yard. Truly, I could not be more pleased with Siggi's progress," Clary said.