DDFT Surgery any Advice

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Sammyhuk

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Hi all , just had the results from boys MRI and they are not great, 4cm tear in the ddft protruding in to the navicular bursa , along with a small hole in the bone. Have discussed with the option of surgery , going in and cleaning up the debris and get rid of anything affecting the bursa to assist with healing. Has anyone had this surgery ? Outcome ? Pros and cons ?
 
SDFT rather than DDFT... and hindleg - you don't specify, but my old mare had surgery to clear up torn fragments where it attaches last summer. She was 19 at that point and had been going well... I was still covered on my insurance and the alternative of 'wait and see but she will probably get more lame' didn't do it for me. Difficult decision to put a horse under a general anaesthetic but i wasn't prepared to give up without at least trying.

Initially she had a really disappointing result. Vets were pleased they'd done the op as they could see more than had been visible on the scan and the conservative approach woudl have been a waste of time. She had some steroid and HA injections while still on box rest, went REALLY lame after that (apparently it's a known reaction to the HA) and then remained 1/10 lame for months afterwards. Vet concluded it was probably adhesions from the surgery and to gently and cautiously work through it if possible but be prepared to accept this was as good as it gets.

The more she did the better she got and she is now sound and in full work aged 20 - I'm careful with her but she just went to BD at Advanced Medium and felt awesome. Be guided by your vet but hope the above is at least a tiny bit helpful. The big con for me was the anaesthetic risk - she has had reactions to sedation etc in the past so it was a worrying time, but she came though it fine (looked blooming rough the day after surgery when I went to visit but nothing too unusual!)
 
Thanks that does give me hope, how much box rest did she have after the op? He's only 10 so need to get him in a restricted paddock as soon as I can !
 
She was in the box for a few weeks - I think it was 2 weeks post op when the stitches came out so probably 10 days after she came home,(big bandages etc) and then she had the HA which needed another good few days because she was so lame.
Nothing like the box rest she had done in the past for other things (we've been through it together.. splint bone fracture, knackered check ligament). I got her into a stable sized pen fairly soon after that. She was only ever 1-2 tenths lame, and they were keen to get her moving to prevent too many adhesions forming. She is still kept in a small paddock now, but that's my choice. I've had quite enough of her field injuries to last me a lifetime so no more gallopy field fun for her!!
 
Hi,

No experience of the surgery but my firends horse has just had the surgery and came through it all okay. He is currently on box rest. My horse did his DDFT on the side of his hind leg it looked like an over grown wingle. I did was also offered surgery but doe to me having surgery I opted for the wait and see and bought him an arcequine. He was given a 50% chance of making a recovery with or without the surgery. TBH if he did not come sound he would have stayed in the field but he has made a full recovery all the fibers have repaired and he is now jumping and schooling :)

Follow what your vet suggests and advises mine was very pro leaving him out also he would have never coped with being in a stable
 
Has your vet given you any steer on prognosis with or without surgery? Is stem cell treatment an option at all? If you need a second opinion at all I can highly recommend Roger Smith at the RVC.
 
My mare has ddft tears in both front feet, diagnosed in Dec after nearly a year of on-off slight lameness. Surgery isn't an option for her, so I have gone down the barefoot rehab route instead. its a long slow healing process whatever you decide.
 
Mine had same diagnosis by MRI on 19th October last year. I was given option of the bursoscopy however surgeon at RVC said it would not cure, only help speed up the healing process and there was 50% successs rate. Quote was £2.5k plus the risks of anestheasia. My own vet was sceptical and advised that this is a new procedure and evidence starting to suggest that it can actually be detrimental.
I raised the potential to try barefoot based on my research and the results from Rockley Farm. My vet was supportive of the idea and was happy for me to send my boy away to them, however I decided to try rehabbing myself as there was a 10 week wait list. Shoes came off 30th November and I started the work with in hand walking slowly building up.
3rd March we had a vet review and he trotted up sound so I got the go ahead to start ridden work and restricted turnout. Just completed week 7 of hacking out on roads, doing 3/4 hour walking with 2x 1 min trot.
 
fairhill said:
My mare has ddft tears in both front feet, diagnosed in Dec after nearly a year of on-off slight lameness. Surgery isn't an option for her, so I have gone down the barefoot rehab route instead. its a long slow healing process whatever you decide.
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hang in there fairhill the barefoot thing is a long road but a good one. My horse is now 10 months in and is going really well. he has boots for the front but more than happy barefoot!
 
No surgery experience but my horse had a ddft tear really low down on a hind leg. I did box rest, restricted turnout and then turned away for 7 months until he was so bored I had to start riding him again. Been sound ever since.
 
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