Equine

BACKGROUND: Lameness can be multifactorial and may result from the accumulation of multiple seemingly unrelated causes. The identification of factors associated with lameness could be one method to decrease incidence of lameness and prolong the equine athlete's competitive life.

OBJECTIVES: To determine if there is an association between hoof balance in the sagittal plane and hindlimb lameness.

STUDY DESIGN: Case-control study.

OBJECTIVE To describe clinical use of a locking compression plate (LCP) for proximal interphalangeal joint (PIPJ) arthrodesis in horses and compare outcomes for horses that underwent the procedure as treatment for fracture of the middle phalanx (P2) versus other causes.

DESIGN Retrospective case series.

ANIMALS 29 client-owned horses.

OBJECTIVE: To assess fracture gap reduction and stability of linear vs triangular 4.5-mm lag screw repair of experimental, uniarticular, and complete forelimb proximal phalanx (P1) fractures.

STUDY DESIGN: Experimental.

SAMPLE POPULATION: Fourteen equine cadaver limbs/horses.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the use of an aiming device (AD) and computed tomography (CT) for preoperative planning and intraoperative guided debridement of subchondral cystic lesions (SCL) in the limbs of horses and to determine the outcome 12 months after surgery.

Category: Equine

Osteochondrosis is a common developmental orthopedic disease characterized by a failure of endochondral ossification. Standardbred horses are recognized as being predisposed to tarsal osteochondrosis. Prior heritability estimates for tarsal osteochondrosis in European Standardbreds and related trotting breeds have been based on pedigree data and range from 17-29%.

OBJECTIVE: To quantitate the iatrogenic injury associated with deep plantar metatarsal fasciotomy performed with Metzenbaum scissors compared with a Y-shaped fasciotome.

STUDY DESIGN: Experimental ex vivo surgical study.

STUDY POPULATION: Cadaveric hind limbs (n = 20) from 10 sound thoroughbred racehorses.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the outcome following conservative vs surgical management of sports horses with a diagnosis of subchondral bone trauma of the proximal aspect of the proximal phalanx (PP) by low-field MRI.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case series.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate safety and efficacy of a novel technique for cervical stabilization.

STUDY DESIGN: In vivo experimental.

ANIMALS: Four normal adult quarterhorse crossbreed horses (2-4 years of age, > 250 kg).

Category: Equine - Spine

OBJECTIVE: To report the outcome of horses after pancarpal or partial carpal arthrodesis with 3 locking compression plates (LCP).

STUDY DESIGN: Case series.

OBJECTIVE: To develop arthroscopic approaches to the atlanto-occipital (A-O) and describe associated arthroscopic anatomy.

STUDY DESIGN: Experimental ex vivo study and clinical case report.

ANIMALS: Ten equine cadaver joints and 1 clinical case.

Category: Equine