Casting Instructions
The casting should be made with the animal standing, bearing weight on the affected limb. Your goal is to match the position and angle of the limb when standing. If the animal is unable to stand, the casting may be done in the prone position while holding the limb and paw to match the weight-bearing angles of the leg when casting. The supplies that you’ll need include:
The supplies that you’ll need include:
- Stockinette
- Hook Cutter
- Sharpie Marker
- Yellow Cutting Strip
- 2” wide Flexible Casting Material (1” for cats and small dogs)
- Bowl of water
- Surgical Gloves
Instructions
- Put gloves on.
- Place stockinette over the entire surface extend above and below the area to be cast.
- Place cut strip along front portion of affected limb with groove facing up. This will give you
a path to cut the cast off with the hook knife.
- While wearing gloves, submerge fiberglass in cool water for 6 seconds. Wrap leg with 2 layers of flexible casting tape. Be careful not to wrap too thick!!! This will cause problems with cutting the cast off. Only a thin layer of cast is needed!!!. Material will set up within 1-3 minutes, so work quickly.
- Smooth the cast with your hands making sure to show all contours of the limb, making sure to get an accurate representation of the affected limb, including dew claws, anatomical abnormalities, or angles of the limb. Most importantly, xmark where the most distal part of the limb is by either smoothing the cast around the toes or by marking the most distal toenail with the sharpie on the cast itself.
- Match the angle of the opposite leg, so that we can make the brace in the most functional position (this can be either a weight-bearing cast or in hand cast). It is important to splay the toes out while casting by putting your thumb in the middle of the toes. The angle of the cast is the angle of the finished product.
- Using the Sharpie, mark down the length of the cutting track on the front of the casting. Cut down the track with the knife.
- Remove the casting. Mark the casting with the animal’s name, the date, which limb you cast, and the top and bottom of the casting
- Ship Casting to:
Phoenix Animal Solutions
43459 Magellan Sq.
Ashburn, VA 20148
Casting Supplies Can be Purchased From:
Phoenix Animal Solutions
42459 Magellan Square
Ashburn, VA 20148
(703) 980-3560