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Discussion on Stifle lock in 3 yr old
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New Member:
Cartee
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Posted on Tuesday, Apr 25, 2006 - 2:59 pm:
I have a young 3yr old gelding with stifle lock, diagnosed last summer by our vet. He has had regular injections of Adequan all year and has been rested the last 8 months. He seems great out in the pasture,happily running around and eating well etc. But we have just started getting him ready for trail riding this summer commencing with light exercise, walking and trotting in a ring. However, the problem(stiffness and favoring the left back leg )is still present. we are ready for the next step, if there is one? Can anyone agree on the right step? From what I have read here there seems to be a preference for cutting the stifle? Can an X-ray confirm anything in this instance?
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Apr 26, 2006 - 7:45 am:
Welcome Ellen,
We outline a program for dealing with this at, Equine Diseases » Lameness » Diseases of the Upper Rear Limb » Diseases of the Stifle » Stifle Lock: Upward Fixation of the Patella
DrO
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New Member:
Cartee
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Posted on Wednesday, Apr 26, 2006 - 8:24 am:
thank you. i did read this article. can you tell me would an x ray be helpful in this instance?
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Member:
Jivete
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Posted on Wednesday, Apr 26, 2006 - 9:35 am:
Ellen, how was your gelding diagnosed? Does/did he actually lock up?
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Apr 26, 2006 - 10:06 am:
Whether an radiograph would be helpful will depend on the history and physical exam of your horse ellen and not a decision I can make. However for straight forward upward fixation there is no usual indication for radiograph.
DrO
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New Member:
Cartee
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Posted on Wednesday, Apr 26, 2006 - 10:34 am:
carla, yes.. But we have observed this only once at which time we immediately called our vet who was there within the hour. There was no doubt in our vet's mind that it was stifle lock. However, i thought there was some chance it was due to a scrape he had received several weeks prior while jumping a low fence. So we elected to see if the problem resolved itself with rest him, no riding, bute, and adequan injections over th winter. He seems to move fine out in the pasture with the other horses but when we recently started exercising him in a rink we feel he is favoring the same back hind leg with a slight limp noticeable.
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Member:
Jivete
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Posted on Wednesday, Apr 26, 2006 - 2:54 pm:
I was curious if the stifle lock was diagnosed off the lame hind end. Was the limp there before you had him diagnosed or is it a new problem?
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New Member:
Cartee
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Posted on Wednesday, Apr 26, 2006 - 3:19 pm:
the was no limping or stiffness prior to the stifle locking. clearly a new problem.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Apr 27, 2006 - 7:58 am:
If there is lameness from pain, not a sign typically seen with stifle lock, and that lameness is localized to the stifle, radiographs are indicated if the lameness did not resolve quickly.
DrO
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New Member:
Cartee
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 1, 2006 - 1:09 pm:
dr.oglesby radiographs have luckily shown no problems. we are electing to go ahead and have him blistered after consulting with colorado state experts. will let you know how it turns out.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Jun 2, 2006 - 7:32 am:
Thanks ellen, do you know why they suggest blistering over ligament splitting?
DrO
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Member:
Cartee
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Posted on Friday, Jun 2, 2006 - 2:45 pm:
my understanding is blistering is currently viewed as a less invasive measure, with no known adverse effects, which has been found to be extremely effective in a vast majority of cases involving intermittent upward patellar fixation.
the next step would be ligament splitting should all else fail.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Saturday, Jun 3, 2006 - 10:57 am:
OK, there are occasional problems, probably related to improper placement of the blister, and "extremely effective" may be a bit of an overstatement, but there is a good chance this will work with minimal problems.
DrO
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Member:
Cartee
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 15, 2006 - 11:01 am:
what do you think the success rate is with blistering and once blistered how long would you rest a horse?
ellen
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Jun 16, 2006 - 11:51 am:
We don't have studies to quote exact numbers ellen, so I will stick with a good chance.
I do not use blistering myself and techniques I have witnessed and been told about vary tremendously probably because there are no published studies on the procedure that I have ever seen. Because of this, best is to follow the advice of those doing the procedure. I have seen some who recommend immediate work inspite of remarkable but temporary lameness from the injections.
DrO
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