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  Discussion on Palmar Annular Ligament SynDrOme...who is at risk?
Author Message
New Member:
Chicnini

Posted on Saturday, Aug 26, 2006 - 7:54 pm:

Dear Dr. O,

My horse had surgical division of the annular ligament one week ago. The doctor that did the surgery was extremely pleased with how it went. I am fortunate in that she has not tendon damage. He believes that she has very good chances for a full recovery. Immediately after the surgery I noticed that she was standing square for the first time in a year. Everyday since surgery her limp was less pronounced. Today I noticed that her limp was just about the same as after surgery. She has been confined to her stall for the last week. She only comes out for bandage changes and to switch stalls twice daily(5 steps to the next stall). She has been a little excited over the past few days, as there has been a lot of activity in the barn. I think she may lay down once in a while. My question is: Since it has only been a week since surgery, could she have done anything to hurt the chances of a full recovery? Could she have just over done it? Is this normal? I should say that she has no fever and the last time her bandage was changed, the vet remarked about how good it looked. I just do not want to go backwards.

Thank you,
Janine
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Aug 27, 2006 - 8:50 am:

Welcome Janine,
When someone asks questions like "Could it be ....(?)" the answer is almost always is a qualified "maybe".

Not being able to examine your horse Janine, I cannot say if what you are seeing is n normal or not. Sometimes during recovery, lameness can go up and down a little and from your description does not sound to much to get worried about in my opinion. On the other hand this may be the start of some complication.

You should carefully check for other signs of trouble, like increase sensitivity to palpation, local heat, exudate, increased swelling. Then double check your finding with your surgeon, review your bandaging technique, and along with your vet consider adding some phenylbutazone or flunixin to the treatment to help prevent adhesion formation.
DrO
PS Janine, you have posted into someone else's discussion. Each discussion should be confined to responding and clarifying the issue of the member who started the discussion. This is explained in the link "Before you post, KNOW THESE POSTING RULES FIRST!" that you will find in every Post form. The "Start new discussion" button is located at the bottom of the list of discussions usually found on pages with articles on them. We have an article and more discussions on this condition and you will find it at, Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Diseases of the Lower Limb » Annular Ligament Constriction.
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