2018 Volume 23 Issue 1 Pages 19-22
An American greater flamingo（Phoenicopterus ruber） chick that hatched in Kobe Municipal Oji Zoo presented with a walking difficulty, as it grew, because of a twisted knock-knee leg. To remedy this, we developed a double-joint device orthosis made from polypropylene and fixed it from the tibiotarsus to the tarsometatarsus region in the chick. The chick began to walk normally and responded to the effects of corrective treatment. However, we also made a number of improvements to the joint bending to this orthosis because of the formation of a superficial ulcer in the intertarsal joint of the chick, continuing corrective treatment for 254 days. Results confirm twisted leg symptom improvements following the removal of the orthosis, and the chick continued to live with the other flamingos.
