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The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne2017; 58(5); 498-502;

Femoral head ostectomy and medial patellar ligament desmotomy to treat a pregnant miniature horse with coxofemoral joint luxation and upward fixation of the patella.

Abstract: A 2-year-old, 8-weeks pregnant, non-weight bearing miniature horse mare was treated for a 6-day-old left coxofemoral joint luxation with a femoral head ostectomy. The procedure had no negative effects on pregnancy or parturition and 23 months following surgery the horse had minimal lameness. Une jument miniature non portante gravide de 8 semaines et âgée de 2 ans a été traitée pour une luxation de l’articulation coxofémorale gauche datant de 6 jours à l’aide d’une ostectomie de la tête fémorale. L’intervention n’a pas eu d’effets négatifs sur la gestation ou la parturition et 23 mois après la chirurgie, la jument présentait une boiterie minime.(Traduit par Isabelle Vallières).
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Publication Date: 2017-05-11 PubMed ID: 28487594PubMed Central: PMC5394608
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  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research studied the case of a two-year-old pregnant miniature horse that was successfully treated for a dislocated hip joint through a surgical procedure, without negative impacts on its pregnancy or birth process. Twenty-three months after the surgery, the horse showed very minor lameness.

Initial Condition of the Horse

  • The horse studied was a two-year-old mare, which was eight weeks into pregnancy and non-weight bearing, i.e., it was struggling to bear weight on her leg due to discomfort or pain.
  • The mare had been suffering from a left coxofemoral joint luxation (hip joint dislocation) for six days. Hip joint dislocation in horses is a serious condition that may lead to inability to bear weight and may require surgical intervention for treatment.

Treatment Process

  • The surgical treatment chosen for this mare was a femoral head ostectomy. This procedure involves the surgical removal of the head of the femur bone.
  • This surgical option was chosen to treat the luxation, effectively disconnecting the femur from the hip joint to mitigate the mare’s discomfort.

Post-surgery Observation

  • There were no negative effects observed on the pregnancy or the parturition (process of giving birth) due to the surgical procedure. This suggests that the operation didn’t cause any stress or harm to the gestational process or the delivery of the foal.
  • Even 23 months after the surgery, the mare presented only minimal lameness. The term ‘lameness’ in horses refers to any abnormalities related to their walking or gait due to an issue in their locomotor system. Minimal lameness means that the horse had almost normal locomotion, and the issue that it had was either completely resolved or did not interfere dramatically with its movement.

In conclusion, the research signifies the effectiveness of the femoral head ostectomy procedure in treating coxofemoral joint luxation in horses, even for pregnant mares, and suggests that it doesn’t negatively affect their pregnancy or delivery process. It also demonstrated long-term recovery success with only minimal lameness observed 23 months after the surgery.

Cite This Article

APA
Ludwig EK, Byron CR. (2017). Femoral head ostectomy and medial patellar ligament desmotomy to treat a pregnant miniature horse with coxofemoral joint luxation and upward fixation of the patella. Can Vet J, 58(5), 498-502.

Publication

The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne
ISSN: 0008-5286
NlmUniqueID: 0004653
Country: Canada
Language: English
Volume: 58
Issue: 5
Pages: 498-502

Researcher Affiliations

Ludwig, Elsa K
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA.
Byron, Christopher R
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Female
  • Hip Dislocation / complications
  • Hip Dislocation / surgery
  • Hip Dislocation / veterinary
  • Horses / surgery
  • Joint Dislocations / surgery
  • Joint Dislocations / veterinary
  • Lameness, Animal / surgery
  • Osteotomy / veterinary
  • Patella / surgery
  • Patellar Ligament
  • Pregnancy

References

This article includes 25 references
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Citations

This article has been cited 2 times.
  1. Carnevale L, Tagliabue T, Rabbogliatti V, Bona R, Cavallier F. Return to Athletic Activity of a Shetland Pony Mare with Coxofemoral Luxation Treated by Femoral Head Ostectomy. Animals (Basel) 2025 Feb 10;15(4).
    doi: 10.3390/ani15040497pubmed: 40002979google scholar: lookup
  2. Tsuka T, Okamoto Y, Nishiyama A, Sunden Y, Morita T. Case report: Imaging of septic arthritis in the hip joint of a calf treated with femoral head ostectomy. Front Vet Sci 2024;11:1292924.
    doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1292924pubmed: 39091397google scholar: lookup
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