|
|
Discussion on Very large wound front of hock
|
| Author |
Message |
New Member:
rachieno
|
Posted on Sunday, Feb 5, 2012 - 3:57 am:
Fighting a long battle at the moment with a horse who had a pretty catastrophic hock injury. Before i got her she had pinch grafts done on the wound which then unfortunately failed and the whole wound split open full thinkness. That was when i got her. She was on box rest for months and bandaged until granulation was level with the skin (as per discharge instructions from the hospital). Vet at the time said proud flesh would be the big issue but didn't end up with any. The healing seemed to be going very well. She slowly made her way from box, to yard, to paddock with no issue of the wound not holding together. I have never had to deal with a injury of this scale before and it seems different vets have different opinions of what i should do. Not overly helpful!
Wound was getting much smaller then all of a sudden, for lack of better wording, collapsed in on itself. Of course immediately called vet who couldn't be sure what exactly happened. Suspected something perhaps under the skin or scar/dead tissue related. Anyway she is back in the box being bandaged again. Vet will be back again in a couple of days. Haven't taken a more recent photo but granulation is now level with the skin. Using Imflamol gel inside the bandage as vet recommended.
www.photobucket.com/avasleg
|
Member:
lilo
|
Posted on Sunday, Feb 5, 2012 - 12:09 pm:
Rachel - I have no advice beyond what the articles recommend for wound care. Just wanted to wish you good luck. Lilo
|
Member:
vickiann
|
Posted on Sunday, Feb 5, 2012 - 1:57 pm:
Dr. O will have to weigh in here but looking at the photos I have to wonder whether what happened is that the wound was healing more from the outside while the inside was not, hence the "collapse."
I've dealt with some very deep wounds but nothing that went un-stitched that was this large and deep.
One very deep one (not stitched, but not as large) on a horse's chest developed proud flesh and that one had some issues with healing on the outside better than the inside but it came out just fine without even a scar, although the proud flesh needed to be addressed when it appeared.
My program for handling open wounds involves a daily assessment about whether the wound is becoming too dry or too moist and as that happens I adjust my treatment program accordingly.
Hope that this will come right for you and I think that it can but it is probably going to require care for a good while longer.
|
Moderator:
DrO
|
Posted on Sunday, Feb 5, 2012 - 8:33 pm:
Welcome Rachel,
Our recommendations for long term wound care are in the article associated with this discussion area. I would be interested in seeing a very recent photo however to get an idea of what is going on now. Also let us know what the vet says.
DrO
|
New Member:
rachieno
|
Posted on Monday, Feb 6, 2012 - 5:26 pm:
Sorry typo in initial post. Granulation is NEARLY level with the skin. Still a little filling in to do. Vet came today and is happy with the progress thus far. Still somewhat confused as to why it collapsed, especially after such a long time. Going to keep bandaging at this stage to keep it clean and moist. At least until granulation in totally level with the skin.
Photo from today, not terribly clear sorry. Taken from my phone.
|
Moderator:
DrO
|
Posted on Thursday, Feb 9, 2012 - 8:06 am:
Hello Rachel,
I still don't get what you mean by collapsing. The picture seems clear enough but what collapsed and where did it collapse to?
DrO
|
New Member:
rachieno
|
Posted on Saturday, Feb 11, 2012 - 12:34 am:
That top section of the wound was not there previously. It had healed over and was only the bottom section left exposed. It literally appeared overnight as a crater in her leg.
The bottom section is healing really well. Skin is starting to move over the granulation which is great. Top section however is not looking as flash. Granulation is almost level with the skin but noticed today that has puss  Doesn't feel hot to the touch but obviously still a worry. Will get vet out again after the weekend.
It's odd that after 6 months of healing a seemingly healthy section of the wound could suddenly turn from healed, into a wound again.
|
Member:
paul303
|
Posted on Saturday, Feb 11, 2012 - 1:12 am:
WOW! Overall, great progress! In the mess that you started with, I doubt that setbacks are unusual. Especially in the hock area that hosts so much movement. You haven't really addressed lameness...how is the horse in that area? I have a mare that sliced off one entire heel bulb and a good portion of the back quarter of her hoof. We struggled for well over a year with that - and it was a year and more of sheer misery. I know this is rough, but you've been doing a wonderful job.
|
New Member:
rachieno
|
Posted on Saturday, Feb 11, 2012 - 11:04 pm:
Seems ok as far as lameness goes. Haven't trotted her up as such but she seems sound.
|
Member:
paul303
|
Posted on Sunday, Feb 12, 2012 - 12:19 am:
Wonderful, Rachel, for soundness is what it is all about. Trot her out and see what the soundness issue is. Soundness is everything! Cosmetics is second. Wonderful effort, Rachel. Please keep us advised.
|
Moderator:
DrO
|
Posted on Sunday, Feb 12, 2012 - 3:17 pm:
I disagree Rachael in that both the upper and lower parts of the wound were in the earlier (and first) images you posted.
DrO
|
|
|
