Diagnostic and operative arthroscopy of the coxofemoral joint in horses.

The research paper discusses a study wherein arthroscopic examination of horse hip joints is performed, detailing the visibility of various regions of the hip joint and resulting issues like ligament tearing or degenerative joint disease. This technique’s applicability seems to be dependent on the horse’s size with it being more effective in smaller horses or foals.

Methods and Procedure

• The study involved the arthroscopic examination of the hip joint in both mature and juvenile horses.
• The insertion point chosen for this process was the lateral region of the hip using either standard or long equipment, the choice of which was determined by the horse’s weight.
• In total, nine hip joints were examined which belonged to three cadavers and four horses under anesthesia.

Observations and Findings

• The researchers were able to access the lateral, cranial, and caudal regions of the femoral head and acetabulum.
• If the limb was distracted, visibility extended to the ligament of the head of the femur and the acetabular notch.
• Smaller horses allowed visibility of the medial regions of the hip joint, but these were inaccessible in larger horses.
• It was noted that there was no apparent iatrogenic injury to the sciatic nerve or periarticular vasculature upon examination post-mortem.

Case Studies

• They then studied six horses with hip joint localized lameness.
• In these, two had tears in the ligament of the femoral head, two demonstrated osteochondrosis of the femoral head or acetabulum, and two had degenerative joint disease; one was associated with a rim fracture at the caudal aspect of the acetabulum whereas the source for the other was not identified.
• One horse with a partially disrupted ligament and both horses with osteochondrosis showed improvement after undergoing debridement.

Conclusions and Recommendations

• It was concluded that diagnostic and surgical arthroscopy of the hip can be undertaken in foal horses and weanlings using standard equipment.
• However, adult horses weighing over 300 kilograms necessitated longer instruments and even then, the ease of access and visibility of the horse’s hip joint was considerably lessened.