Long‐Term Outcome in 44 Horses with Stifle Lameness After Arthroscopic Exploration and Debridement

Abstract

Some horses with extensive cartilage damage may return to athletic function after arthroscopic debridement and lavage. A more pessimistic prognosis may be given to older horses, those with more severe preoperative lameness, and those with severe radiographic changes or large meniscal tears.

Cell-based Therapies for Equine Joint Disease

“…90,91 With surgery alone, grade 3 meniscal tears had 0 and 6% success rates for return to work compared with the current study where MSC injection and surgery resulted in a 60% return to work. Intra-articular treatment with autologous cells had an 8% incidence of acute inflammation, or flare, which, given the concurrent administration of HA (12% flare incidence reported), would be an expected, or lower than expected, outcome.…”

Cartilage Therapy and Repair in Equine Athletes

“…Despite positive anecdotal impressions for the use of microfracture in equine articular cartilage defects, no clinical studies with solitary cartilage defects are available (34). In a recent study of 44 horses, an association between the use of microfracture and any measure of long-term outcome was unable to be proven (45). It must be noted however, that this study population suffered from more complex lesions than just cartilage damage alone.…”

Introduction

“…Ultrasound has been noted to be a useful adjunct with femoropatellar osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) when there is high clinical suspicion but equivocal radiographic findings (Bourzac et al, 2009). The potential for false-positive ultrasonographic diagnoses of meniscal tears was highlighted by Cohen et al (2009). In the femorotibial joints, arthroscopic approaches into the caudal medial and lateral compartments have been described by Watts and Nixon (2006) and a detailed comparison between ultrasonographic and arthroscopic boundaries of the normal equine femorotibial joints has been reported by Barrett et al (2012).…”

“…In the femorotibial joints, arthroscopic approaches into the caudal medial and lateral compartments have been described by Watts and Nixon (2006) and a detailed comparison between ultrasonographic and arthroscopic boundaries of the normal equine femorotibial joints has been reported by Barrett et al (2012). The classification of osteochondral lesions of the MFC initially reported by Walmsley et al (2003) using the Outerbridge human grading system has been developed further by Cohen et al (2009). Alternative techniques for treatment of subchondral cystic lesions (SCLs) of the medial femoral condyle (MFC) have been described since 2005, including injection of triamcinolone acetonide into the fibrous tissue of SCLs under arthroscopic guidance (Wallis et al, 2008) and chondrocytes or mesenchymal stem cells in fibrin glue implantation (O rtved et al, 2012).…”