Happy Fourth! And here's information on the question you asked.
"The reason we changed the screws is that he had two broken screws that crossed the pastern joint," he said. Richardson said that the screws he replaced were in "the least important part of the fixation" and that veterinarians knew bent screws in that area would be fairly likely.
"That is an area that we knew was going to be vulnerable to have the implants break, because there's a lot of force and motion that's occurring at the pastern joint, because everything is locked down above it. The end of the plate is there, and it's tending to move, and he's been very, very active on his cast."
Doesn't that sound just a little bit ominous? Cautionary at least. And speaking of cautionary, I'm off to see the ct wizard right now.