An investigation on the use of cryosurgery for treatment of bone spavin, splint, and fractured splint bone injuries in standardbred horses.

The study explores the effectiveness of cryosurgery in treating bone spavin, splint, and fractured splint bone injuries in standardbred horses, providing evidence that it improves performance post-treatment and has fewer complications than other procedures.

Background

• This research was conducted at Wheatley Hall Farm Equine Clinic and focused on treating three types of bone injuries in standardbred horses: bone spavin, splint, and fractured splint bone.
• Different treatment methods have been tried, but cryosurgery has shown to be the most successful.

Cryosurgery Procedure

• The cryosurgery method involves destroying small pain-producing afferent C fibers, which prevents the painful neuromas from returning.
• The surgical sites were treated with liquid nitrogen in a specific double freeze-thaw period of 45 seconds, a pause of 5 seconds, then another 45 seconds.
• Unlike other surgical procedures, this one does not result in the same level of complications and requires a relatively short recovery period.
• Also, in contrast to denerving (a surgical procedure to numb a specific area), a horse post-cryosurgery is still able to respond to external stimuli in the treated area.

Results and Conclusion

• There were comparisons made between the horses’ performance before and after the cryosurgery treatment.
• The results indicated that in all three injury groups, the standardbred horses tended to perform as well, or even better, in terms of racing times and classes following the cryosurgery treatment.
• These observations suggest that cryosurgery is not only effective but also a safe, humane, and efficient treatment alternative for these specific bone injuries in horses.