Topic:Bandaging
Bandaging in horses involves the application of various materials to protect, support, or treat equine limbs and other body parts. This practice is utilized for multiple purposes, including wound protection, injury prevention, and support of tendons and ligaments during recovery or exercise. Different types of bandages, such as stable bandages, exercise bandages, and therapeutic wraps, are used depending on the specific needs of the horse. The proper application of bandages is essential to ensure effective support and to prevent complications such as pressure sores or impaired circulation. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the techniques, materials, and clinical applications of bandaging in equine care.
Effects of amnion and live yeast cell derivative on second-intention healing in horses. Equine amnion and live yeast cell derivative were evaluated as a biological dressing and as a topical wound medicament respectively, in the treatment of granulating wounds of the distal portion of the limbs of horses. Wounds measuring 2.5 x 2.5 cm were created on the dorsomedial aspect of the metacarpal and metatarsal region of all 4 limbs of 9 horses. Each wound was assigned randomly to 1 of 3 treatment groups: group C, treated with a nonadherent bandage as a control; group A, treated with amnion beneath a nonadherent bandage; and group L, treated with live yeast cell derivative beneath a non...
Effects of a proprietary topical medication on wound healing and collagen deposition in horses. Full-thickness skin wounds were created on the dorsum of both metacarpi in 8 horses. Three topical treatment regimens were studied. All wounds were bandaged with a nonadherent dressing, which was held in place with a snug elastic wrap. Group-A wounds were treated with a proprietary topical wound medication that consisted of a spray and an ointment. Group-B wounds were treated with the same regimen, except the putative active ingredients in the ointment were omitted. Group-C wounds were treated with a dry nonadherent bandage only. Wound dressings were changed every day and the limbs were photog...
Closed suction drainage in the treatment of infectious arthritis of the equine tarsocrural joint. Infectious arthritis of the tarsocrural joint was treated in 13 horses with closed suction drainage through a flat, fenestrated, latex (Jackson-Pratt) drain, broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and bandage immobilization. In 11 horses, arthroscopic lavage and debridement were also performed. Ingress drains were placed for lavage in six horses. Ten horses returned to their previous level of competition or were sound. One horse raced but had lameness of the affected tarsocrural joint and dropped in racing class; one horse was euthanatized because of laminit...
Surgical treatment of tarsal sheath effusion associated with an exostosis on the calcaneus of a horse. A 2-year-old Thoroughbred colt was referred for evaluation of effusion within the tarsal sheath and associated lameness of the right hind limb. Conservative treatment consisting of needle aspiration and pressure bandaging had been unsuccessful. Radiography of the right tarsus revealed proliferative periosteal reaction along the distal caudal border of the sustentaculum tali and medial aspect of the calcaneus. The owners elected conservative treatment, using a local injection of corticosteroid and pressure bandaging the tarsus. Five months later, the severity of the effusion and lameness had in...
Equine bandaging techniques. Topical medications and bandages play an important role in the management of equine wounds. Certain water-soluble antibacterial ointments (povidone-iodine, polymixin-neosporin-bacitracin) may be appropriate for use on contaminated wounds. A well-designed equine bandage is usually composed of primary, secondary, and tertiary layers. Because so many different products are available, the practitioner is advised to become familiar with the handling characteristics of a few. Because of the irregular contours of the equine limb, only products that stretch and conform should be used. Bandages should ...
Principles of wound healing. Wound healing can be divided into immediate (zero to 1 hour), early (1 to 24 hours), intermediate (1 to 7 days), and late (greater than 7 days) stages. Many physical and physiologic events occur simultaneously and sequentially during these stages to produce the final wound scar. The processes of skin retraction, scab formation, would debridement, wound contraction, epithelial migration and proliferation, fibroplasia, and collagen maturation all must occur for healing to be successful. Many factors affect the size and shape of the resulting scar, including anatomic location and skin tension for...
Management of exuberant granulation tissue. Exuberant granulation tissue is common in large, lower limb wounds of horses, particularly horses of large body size. Methods of control include chemical cautery, cryogenic surgery, and surgical resection. Surgical resection is preferred because it is easy to perform, provides tissue for histologic evaluation, and preserves the epithelial margin. Effective treatments to prevent the formation of granulation tissue include leaving granulating wounds open to the air or, possibly, bandaging with topical steroids. Bandaging or casting may promote exuberant granulation tissue in wounds in which it h...
Tourniquet-induced hypertension in a horse. Arterial hypertension developed in a horse anesthetized for arthroscopy and lavage of an inflamed right carpal joint. Anesthesia was induced with xylazine HCl, butorphanol, guaifenesin, and thiamylal Na and was maintained with halothane in oxygen. Arterial hypertension and tachycardia developed within 15 minutes after a pneumatic tourniquet was placed 8 to 10 cm proximal to the right carpus and inflated to 800 mm of Hg. The surgical procedure was expedited, halothane was discontinued and anesthesia was maintained with guaifenesin to facilitate bandaging. Heart rate decreased from 72 to 42 beat...
Keratomas in horses: seven cases (1975-1986). The diagnosis of keratoma in 7 horses and their treatment and outcome were evaluated. Horses were 2 to 20 years old, of various breeds, and were intact or castrated males. All were lame, and 6 horses had had previous injuries of the affected hoof that had not responded to prior treatments. Only 1 hoof was affected in each horse. Keratomas were beneath the hoof wall (6 horses) or sole (1 horse). Radiographically, a circular or semicircular defect with a discrete margin was present in the distal portion of the third phalanx in 3 horses. Grossly, keratomas were firm solitary masses (1.5 to 5 cm d...
Coxofemoral luxation in two foals wearing hindlimb casts. Two foals wearing hindlimb casts developed coxofemoral luxations 6 days and 9 days after the casts were applied. One foal had a cast on one hindlimb up to the proximal portion of the tibia and the other foal had tube casts on all 4 limbs. Although the incidents that resulted in the luxations were not observed, they probably occurred during awkward attempts to stand or from being pushed by the mare, with the affected limb being caught under the body in a forward extended and adducted position.
Splinting device for hindlimb fractures in horses. A Robert Jones bandage modified to include a steel walking bar frame and, in one case, side-supporting bars, was applied as a splinting device in 4 horses with hindlimb fractures (3 tarsal and 1 middle phalangeal). The modification was used as an adjunct to previous casting therapies or as a means for handling casting failures or soft tissue problems encountered during the casting period. This means of stabilization is easily adapted to replace a problematic cast in various clinical settings, is easily applied in the standing patient, is easily changed and adjusted on a regular basis, has mini...
Secondary closure of infected abdominal incisions in cattle and horses. Infected abdominal incisions in 7 cattle and 3 horses were resutured with monofilamentous stainless steel retention sutures. After debridement of devitalized and infected tissue, wound edges were apposed with simple interrupted vertical (5 cattle, 3 horses) or horizontal (2 cattle) mattress sutures, placed through all layers of the body wall. Sutures were placed 2 to 3 cm apart over rubber tubing, 3 to 5 cm from wound edges. In 5 of the 10 operations, skin and subcutaneous tissue were left unsutured. The repaired wounds were supported with an encircling elastic roll bandage and sterile compres...
Case of equine goitre. A brief review of the literature on equine goitre is presented, together with a case of congenital goitre in a foal. This animal showed localised swelling of the neck, hyperextension of the lower limbs and initial difficulty in sucking. The goitre was removed surgically and the hyperextension successfully treated with surgical shoes and bandaging. The cause was probably iodine deficiency coupled with a goitrogen in the diet.
Split-thickness autogenous skin transplantation in the horse. Single or multiple split-thickness autogenous skin transplants were applied to 20 limb wounds of 17 horses. The surface area of the wounds ranged from 25 to 200 sq cm. Grafts 0.635-mm thick were collected by use of an electric dermatome and were expanded on a mesh dermatome. The expanded mesh grafts were applied to wounds on 3 horses 4 days after injury. For the other 14 horses, grafts were applied after a granulation tissue bed had formed. The grafts were secured to the recipient beds with sutures and a dressing composed of a foam pad and elastic adhesive tape or with the dressing alone. Furt...
Basic physiology of wound healing in the horse. Wound healing is part of the normal general repair process of the body. Its efficient completion depends on many factors, some physical, eg, pH, oxygen tension and tissue tension, and some biological, eg, cell-cell interaction and feedback of extracellular matrix on to the cells which produce it. The factors which affect healing are discussed and failures and anomalies in the process described. New techniques which may improve the quality of healing in specialised tissues are explained. Recent research on wound healing has concentrated on the role of the different cell types in the process and...
Treatment of hygromata in horses. A surgical technique of open drainage, using penrose drains and pressure bandages, was used for the treatment of hygromata in four horses. In 3 cases with hygroma of the carpus, one with a secondary infection, there was complete resolution of the condition whereas in the one case with hygroma of the elbow resolution was more protracted because of difficulties in bandaging. The cosmetic and functional results after operation were most satisfactory.
A technique for management of traumatic rupture of the equine suspensory apparatus. Problems involving the management of acute traumatic rupture of the equine suspensory apparatus include loss of blood flow to the foot, proper immobilization, and pressure sores from casts. A technique utilizing a board splinting device attached to the affected limb at the toe and subsequent corrective shoe support provides immobilization, prevents dropping of the fetlock, can be applied to the standing animal, and allows frequent changing of the bandages, if necessary.
Fixation of skin grafts in the horse using stainless steel staples. Three horses with a chronic wound on the distal part of a leg were treated successfully by grafting. Small split skin grafts were fixed onto pieces of adhesive tape. The tape pieces were spread over and fixed to the granulation surface with stainless steel staples. A tight pressure bandage including strongly compressed cellular rubber was then applied over the wound. The combination of staple fixation and strong pressure proved effective in immobilising the skin graft. It was stressed that a firm covering of granulation tissue was a prerequisite for success and therefore the technique should n...
Use of Hexcelite for the immobilisation of the limbs of large animals. The use of a thermoplastic linear polyester polymer orthopaedic tape in the treatment of six horses, one donkey and a bull with a variety of orthopaedic problems requiring immobilisation of a limb is described.
[Fracture of the 1st phalanx in the horse]. Of 28 fractures of the first phalanx 21 were treated with osteosynthesis; one was treated conservatively. 2 to 4 compression screws have been applied, while the distal part of the limb was immobilized by a light cast bandage for 8 days. The implants were removed 2 to 3 months post operationem. All patients are again used in sports.