Surgical treatment of septic physitis in 17 foals.
Abstract: To document the progression and outcome after surgical curettage of septic physes in foals. Methods: Case series of 17 foals, aged <9 weeks, with septic physitis. Methods: All foals were treated surgically with curettage of physeal lesions. Combinations of systemic antibiotics, intravenous regional perfusion of antibiotic and antibiotic-impregnated polymethylmethacrylate beads were used as adjunct medical treatments. Tissue removed from the physis of three foals during surgery was sent for pathological analysis. Results: At follow-up, 15 of the 17 foals were alive. In the two foals with septic physitis of the distal tibia, the condition was bilateral. Eight foals had concurrent septic arthritis of the joint adjacent to the growth plate, but this did not affect outcome. Referring veterinarians of the foals were contacted at least 9 months post-surgery and all reported excellent functional, and good to excellent cosmetic, outcomes. Pathological examination of the septic physeal tissue showed that normal growth plate had been replaced by inflammatory tissue. Conclusions: Septic physitis in foals may be treated using surgical curettage in selected cases. Removal of septic material might be expected to expedite resolution of infection, especially important in immunologically challenged neonates, where septic tissue may act as a reservoir for seeding of infection to other sites.
© 2012 The Authors. Australian Veterinary Journal © 2012 Australian Veterinary Association.
Publication Date: 2012-10-15 PubMed ID: 23186089DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.2012.01000.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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This research looks into the progress and results after using surgical curettage to treat septic physitis- a bacterial infection of the growth plate, in young foals (baby horses). Using a series of 17 such cases, combined with different medical treatments and post-surgery pathologic analysis, the study found a majority of foals to be in a good state of health and function, suggesting that surgical curettage can be an effective treatment for septic physitis in foals.
Methodology
- The research method was a case series using 17 foals, all less than 9 weeks old and suffering from septic physitis.
- Each of them was treated with surgical curettage of physeal lesions. This is a surgical procedure to remove infected areas from the growth plates of the foals.
- Adjunct medical treatments were employed post-procedure. This involved systemic antibiotics, regional perfusion of antibiotics delivered intravenously, and antibiotic-impregnated polymethylmethacrylate beads.
- For three of the foals, tissue that was surgically removed from the growth plate was sent for pathological analysis to study the effects of the disease and the treatment.
Results
- Post-surgery, 15 out of the 17 foals survived.
- In two of the foals, the distal tibia was found to have septic physitis in both legs (bilateral).
- Eight of the foals also had septic arthritis present in the joint next to the growth plate, although this did not impact the final outcomes.
- 9 months post-surgery, follow-ups with the referring veterinarians revealed excellent functional results, and good to excellent cosmetic outcome in all foals.
- The pathological analysis demonstrated replacement of the normal growth plate with inflammatory tissue in septic physeal tissue.
Conclusions
- The study concludes that surgical curettage can be an effective treatment for septic physitis in foals.
- By removing the infected material, this can help speed up the resolution of infection, particularly in neonatal foals where their immune system may be compromised and the infected tissue could be a potential source for spreading the infection elsewhere.
Cite This Article
APA
Hall MS, Pollock PJ, Russell T.
(2012).
Surgical treatment of septic physitis in 17 foals.
Aust Vet J, 90(12), 479-484.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-0813.2012.01000.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Goulburn Valley Equine Hospital, Congupna, Victoria, Australia. maxhall@gmail.com
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Animals, Newborn
- Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
- Bacterial Infections / drug therapy
- Bacterial Infections / surgery
- Bacterial Infections / veterinary
- Debridement / veterinary
- Epiphyses / surgery
- Female
- Horse Diseases / drug therapy
- Horse Diseases / surgery
- Horses
- Male
- Treatment Outcome
Citations
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