Upward fixation of the patella in the horse. A retrospective study.
Abstract: The objective of the present study was to assess the incidence of upward fixation of the patella (UFP) in different types of patients and to evaluate the outcome of conservative and surgical treatment for correcting this condition. A particular attempt was made to find out whether corrective trimming and/or shoeing (CTS) is efficient in the conservative treatment of UFP, and whether a longer postoperative resting period reduces the risk of complications after medial patellar desmotomy (MPD). Medical records of 78 horses with intermittent or permanent UFP were analyzed retrospectively. Young animals and ponies were mostly affected, mainly during winter (P < 0.05). Seventy-six horses with UFP were treated conservatively, with follow-up being possible in 64 of them. This treatment, in which CTS seemed the most important aspect, was fully successful in 51.6% of these patients; 20.3% of them improved partially. In case of no response to conservative treatment, or in case of a permanent fixation, MPD was performed in 20 horses, which corrected UFP completely in 17 of the 18 followed-up patients. However, gait abnormalities were seen in seven of those 17 horses postsurgically, but with the incidence being lower in horses that had rested for at least three months (25%) compared to horses that had only rested for less than one month (66.6%). Results indicate that conservative treatment, with special attention for CTS, is worth trying before performing more radical procedures to correct UFP, and that a longer convalescence period after MPD is desirable.
Publication Date: 2007-06-05 PubMed ID: 17546213DOI: 10.1160/vcot-06-01-0004Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research paper discusses a study on the incidence of upward fixation of the patella (UFP) in horses and the effectiveness of conservative and surgical treatments to correct this condition. The research suggests that conservative treatment, including corrective trimming and shoeing (CTS), and a longer rest period postoperation, contribute to successful outcomes when treating UFP.
Study Objective
- The main aim of this study was to estimate the occurrence of upward fixation of the patella (UFP) in various types of horses and assess the effectiveness of both conservative and surgical treatment for rectifying this condition.
- The researchers were specifically interested in determining if corrective trimming and/or shoeing (CTS) effectively treats UFP conservatively and if an extended resting period post-operation reduces post-surgical complications after medial patellar desmotomy (MPD).
Research Methodology
- The study relied on the medical records of 78 horses that had either intermittent or permanent UFP, deciding to use a retrospective approach to data analysis.
- The selection included young horses and ponies which were found to be predominantly affected by this condition, particularly in winter.
Study Findings
- Of the 76 horses that underwent conservative treatment, follow-up was possible on 64 of them. This intervention heavily relied on corrective trimming and shoeing (CTS), which was completely successful in treating UFP in 51.6% of the horses. 20.3% of the horses showed partial improvement.
- Medial patellar desmotomy (MPD) was performed on 20 horses that didn’t respond to conservative treatment or those with permanent fixation. This surgical treatment corrected UFP completely in 17 of the 18 horses that could be followed up.
- However, post-surgical gait abnormalities were observed in 7 out of 17 horses. The incidence of gait abnormalities was found to be lower in horses that had rested for at least three months (25%) compared to horses that had only rested for less than one month (66.6%).
- The findings suggest that conservative treatment, with special emphasis on corrective trimming and shoeing, is an important first step before resorting to more drastic procedures to treat UFP.
- In addition, a longer recovery period after MPD significantly reduces the incidence of complications.
Cite This Article
APA
Dumoulin M, Pille F, Desmet P, Dewulf J, Steenhaut M, Gasthuys F, Martens A.
(2007).
Upward fixation of the patella in the horse. A retrospective study.
Vet Comp Orthop Traumatol, 20(2), 119-125.
https://doi.org/10.1160/vcot-06-01-0004 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Surgery and Anaesthesiology of Domestic Animals, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium. michele.dumoulin@ugent.be
MeSH Terms
- Age Factors
- Animals
- Arthroscopy / methods
- Arthroscopy / veterinary
- Follow-Up Studies
- Hoof and Claw / surgery
- Horses / surgery
- Patella / surgery
- Patellar Ligament / surgery
- Postoperative Complications / epidemiology
- Postoperative Complications / veterinary
- Retrospective Studies
- Risk Factors
- Seasons
- Treatment Outcome
Citations
This article has been cited 2 times.- da Silva NV, Bernardino Júnior R, Nomelini QSS, Pereira GF, Delfiol DJZ, Nogueira GM. Electromyographic and behavioral analysis of horses submitted to medial patellar desmotomy. Vet Res Commun 2024 Dec;48(6):4153-4158.
- Peitzmeier MD, Koontz ZD, Lynch TM, Hughes FE, Slone DE. Outcome of medial patellar ligament desmoplasty for treatment of intermittent upward fixation of the patella in 24 horses (2005-2012). Can Vet J 2015 Feb;56(2):193-5.
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