Rome, Ga.-based orthopedic surgeon and hand specialist Michael Paxten, MD, operated on an injured red-tailed hunting hawk, according to the Rome News-Tribune.
Here are four things to know:
1. Dr. Paxten of the Rome Orthopaedic Center inserted a prosthetic bone anchor in the hawk's injured talon. Veterinarian and West Rome Animal Clinic owner Dan Pate offered his surgical theater and anesthesia for the procedure.
2. A fox squirrel caused the hawk's injury during a hunt, pulling the tendon off the bone where it attached. In humans, a similar condition is called a Jersey finger.
3. According to Dr. Paxten, the hawk might never have been able to fully grip and lift anything with the injured talon again without the prosthetic bone anchor.
4. Dr. Paxten received his medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and underwent hand and upper extremity fellowship training at the University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham.
More articles on orthopedics:
Castle Connolly selects Dr. Robin Gehrmann as a New York Metro Area Top Doctor: 5 insights
Orthopedic surgeon to know: Dr. Kevin Stone of The Stone Clinic