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  Discussion on Left Carpus lameness and swelling
Author Message
New Member:
pbtucker

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 3, 2008 - 12:28 pm:

Hi, I'm new to this website and have been browsing it for the past couple weeks.
I have a 13 yr.old Arab mare that was given to me as a pasture pet and companion for my TWH mare.
Maggie, the Arab, came to me with lameness and swelling just above the left carpus. My vet was out last night to ultrasound and we couldn't see any tearing of the extensor ligament but a lot of fluid around it and the joint. He did take a couple xrays but I don't know the results yet. He thought the fluid might be more concentrated in the joint capsule and suggested draining it and wrapping the leg to see if the swelling will go away permanently. Of course, we're waiting to see if there is any fractures.
The person who gave me Maggie said she'd been ridden and was fine, put in a small stall for the night and in the morning was lame.
Thanks for any thoughts,
Peggy
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Dec 4, 2008 - 8:09 am:

Welcome Peggy T,
You say the fluid is just above the carpus but the vet feels the fluid is in the carpus. Sometimes there can be overlap of extra and intra articular swelling of the carpus but simply picking the leg up and flexing the knee makes differentiation easier:as the joint capsule is pulled into the gap created by the separation of the upper carpal joints. Right now you wait for the results of the radiograph and make your next step based on the results.
DrO
New Member:
pbtucker

Posted on Thursday, Dec 4, 2008 - 10:52 am:

Thank you Dr. O.
I got the results back from my vet. He thinks there was a fracture or chip and says there is arthritic changes in the knee. We're going to go with H-A and cortisone injection. I'm also going to try wrapping the leg and using an NSAID to see if that will help decrease the size of the leg. His recommendation is Surpass, rather than bute, but does admit it is a little pricey at $75 per tube.
A friend also recommended cold hosing but since the injury took place about 4-5 months ago, would cold hosing still help? For how many minutes would I do it? And how many days or weeks?
Peggy
New Member:
pbtucker

Posted on Thursday, Dec 4, 2008 - 10:57 am:

Thanks for replying Dr. O.
I got the results from my vet. He thinks there was/is a fracture or chip of the radial carpus area. He says there is arthritic changes in the joint. We've decided to try an injection of H-A and cortisone. He also recommended a compression wrap (with padding underneath) and either bute or Surpass. He recommends Surpass but admits it's a little pricey at $75 a tube.
A friend also suggested cold hosing the leg to help the swelling. Since the injury is 4-5 months old, would cold hosing still help? For how many minutes would I do it? And for how many days or weeks?
Peggy
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Dec 5, 2008 - 8:04 am:

I have seen much better results with bute than Surpass. I am not much for cold or warm hosing cases of osteoarthritis.

For recommended treatments and management see the arthritis section of Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Diseases of the Upper Front Limb » Overview of Lameness of the Knee (Carpus) but be sure to follow the link to Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Joint, Bone, Ligament Diseases » Arthritis and DJD: An Overview where you will find worlds of information on the management and treatment of DJD.
DrO
New Member:
pbtucker

Posted on Saturday, Dec 6, 2008 - 3:28 am:

Do you think the compression bandaging will help much with the swelling? I've already got her on glucosamine, chonDrOitin and gingko powder.

Peggy
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Dec 7, 2008 - 4:28 am:

I cannot assess that without examination Peggy or at least knowing exactly what structure in the knee is distended and why. In short if this is edema or a short standing distension compression may help but long term chronic distensions probably will not respond. The article on carpal lameness discusses several these particular swellings of the knee.
DrO
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