Help please, kissing spine

TicTac

TicTac

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I know this subject has probably be covered on a number of occasions, but untill you have a particular need to be interested,some post just pass you by, so please forgive me if this is an old subject.

My mare has just come home from horsepital having being diagnosed with ' kissing spine' The trouble is it's not just one or two vertabrae involved but 7, starting from just behind the wither to just before the pelvis. The two options are injections into the vertabrae or an operation to remove, in her case 4 bones and this would be a big operation.

I have brought her home having opted for the injection. I am not sure about putting her through such an operation and want to do more research on it before even giving it consideration.

Please could any of you good folk tell me of you experiences with this condition either good or bad. I will post this in veterinary as well. Thank you :-(
 
No personal experience but I am currently doing a big bit of coursework for my MSc looking at kissing spines. This journal article may be of use to you, it has some good info.

"Impingement of the dorsal spinous processes in 215 horses: case selection, surgical technique and results"

I think you would probably have to buy it, it's throught the equine vet journal but if you would like it then let me know and I can get a copy for you - luckily get them for free as my uni subscribes to the journal :)
 
i went to a seminar on kissing spines not long ago with one of the best vets in the country dr svend kold and the op is the best long term option. il try and explain best i can.
basically what they do is chop the top of the vertabrae off so it doesnt rub next to the next one, they take on, leave one, take one depending on how many there are kissing. they either have a few small incisions or a long one. in your case it will prob be a long one. they have 6 weeks box rest and if i remember right with walking in hand. they can start walk pessoa work once cleared by vet this can be for 3-5 months then light ridden work can begin again. the healing process is very quick and usually uncomplicated. the spinal processes that are being cut off are not there for weight bearing of rider etc they just purley there for shape and structure. il see if i can find some pics to explain abit better. heres a link to svends site which should explain abit better.
http://www.svendkold.com/clinical_kissing_spines.html
 
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Thank you very much Miss_buffay. I will look at the link. My vet did say that my mare was born with this condition so she has probably never been completely pain free.

Monsters, her symptoms are as follows.

I have had her two years and she has always been grumpy to girth and rug, Always bucked on a regular basis especially on the lunge, but relentlessly. Ridden bucking occurs on upward transitions from trot to canter with hind leg changes. General lack of suppleness and acceptance of the bit and a dislike of lateral work. Having said all this the mare is obviously genuine as she tries so hard within her boundries to please me. I have always been convinced something was not right and a noticeable shortening of her stride prompted me to call the vet.
 
Unfortunately I have experience of this, my 9 year old warmblood gelding was diagnosed with KS in 2005, in his case 3 'levels' of the spinal processes were touching. We were advised that surgery was the best option, so we went ahead with the operation. What should have been fairly straightforward surgery turned into a nightmare, when the sub-layer of stiches in the muscle of his back became infected. He was at the vets for 5 weeks (had to have revision surgery to remove the infected stitches), then home on strong antibiotics.. our £5,000 insurance limit came and went, final bill was nearly £9,000.

To cut a very long story short, he eventually came back into ridden work at the end of 2005, we took it very, very slowly and things were going really well (out competing at Prelim and getting good scores) until the end of 2006 when the old symptoms starting resurfacing, along with what looked like mild hind limb lameness. Back to the vets and then referred to Liphook, after more investigations they concluded that he probably had nerve damage from the surgery. We were advised to give him at least a year off and then try again, so that we'd know for sure. He was turned away for 15months, came back into work (again very slowly) in mid-2008, all seemed to go well, always slightly cold backed and 'quirky' but not in any obvious discomfort. Then in early 2009 he just switched off, starting looking dull and just not enjoying life. After much deliberation I made the very hard decision to retire him. He's now living the life of riley with his shetland pony girlfriend and looks amazing. To see him galavant around the field you'd never dream there was anything wrong with him, but put a saddle on and he just can't cope.

We still don't know exactly what went wrong with him, but in his case the surgery didn't help..

I got another horse last year after Cody retired, had her back scanned and x-rayed before we bought her as there was a slight tenderness at vetting - showed one level of 'close' spinal processes - but nowhere near in the 'needs surgery' league. She's been injected twice, just to make sure.. and touch wood.. they seem to have done the trick.

Sorry to put a dampner on things, I do know of horses that have made incredible come-backs from KS surgery, but personally, I would try the injections first, and have the surgery if all else fails. Good luck!
 
I've had two horses with KS. The first was diagnosed about 17 years ago, and he went to John Walmsley at Liphook for the surgery, which was a fairly new procedure in those days. He had to have 6 months off work, but I know the current way of thinking gets the horse back into work much more quickly. He was much better after the operation, but you always had to be careful when mounting (before the op mounting was always the worst time - he used to explode into bronco bucking routine) as he had years of memory of expected pain to deal with. My next horse's symptoms were less violent, and we noticed a deterioration of his flatwork, particularly at canter and with collected work. We tried injections of cortisone in between the vertebrae, but they made no difference - he also had three courses of Tildren, again no difference . He has gone out on loan to a lady who just likes to potter about the lanes on a long rein which he is very happy with. Surgery was not an option for him due to the number of vertebrae involved, his age (15 on diagnosis) and the fact that he was not chronic and was still able to have a comfortable life, albeit not the life that I wanted for him. You don't say how old your horse is?
 
My horse was diagnosed just had the injections today (he said do that before operation) and is back in 3 weeks for his first check up - I am also interested and would love to know what route you take and the outcomes
 
Thanks for your replys guys,

Brief history. I have had my mare 2 years and she was 8 when I brought her. She is now 10. She has always been grumpy to girth and rug and always been disgruntled in her flat work. ie reluctant to bend, would not soften through her poll and back completely, tail swishes and occasional bucks going from trot to canter and changing legs behind on the flat. On the lunge, in a pessoa she will buck relentlesley, However she has never objected to me getting on or off, and to be fair must be a genuine and honest horse to have put up with her back pain for what has been all her life. The vet thinks that she was born with this condition, so she knows no difference. She is a grumpy old moo but no wonder! Everything makes sense now.

I opted for the injections initially,( cortosoids and tildren,) so we will see. She is also on bute for 10 days. The more I think about it the more I think that it is unlikely that I will put my mare through such a major operation and as lucyDT mentioned as did my vet, probably the biggest complication can be infection of the wound which in her case would be quite large.

I am gutted as this is the 3rd horse I have owned in the last 15 years that has suffered from a major problem. The previous two were pts with their problems. However, she is not unbearably uncomfortable and after a brief rest period will start lunging her again in the pessoa and she how she goes, so watch this space.
 
Dont write her off yet, surgery seems really scary and i stressed so much but it saved my horses life. She was older...17/18 it turns out (i thought she was 16!) even if you couldnt ever ride again atleast there wouldnt be any pain anymore....otherwise your stuck with a horse who will always be in pain!

good luck
 
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