Hock arthroscopy

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SpartiTarti

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Hey all. My 11 year old jumper has been battling hock issues for the last 4 months. He has fluid filled boggy hock and mild heat. Vet tried to treat it with HA and steroids, and it did not help. Ultrasound is clear, and horse has good radiographs. He is sound in walk and trot, but flexion test makes him very lame. So now he is going for arthroscopic surgery next week. I'm shivering in fear, I'm lost and teriffied. Please share any stories to comfort me. I'm afraid of the outcome. I'm afraid that he will have to be put to sleep. Do I stay with him in the clinic or leave him there? How long to recover? What to expect during recovery? Is there even a chance for recovery? Please, anything. I'm desperate, crying all night and very anxious. I don't want to lose him. If anyone understands..
 
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AdorableAlice

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SpartiTarti said:
Heya. Were you present during to surgery or you just leave a horse and wait it out? GA is really scary to me, so can you give me more info about that? How is your horse now? xx
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You won't be present for the surgery. The hospital will practice a sterile environment in theatre. My mare had surgery in July for a hock injury.

You will need to have shoes removed before going into hospital. The hock area will be totally shaved and scrubbed clean. The vets are well practised at the procedure and you have to trust them. The GA will be done in a safe padded cell as will the recovery, with ropes on to help the horse up if needed. Mine sat on her backside for a while apparently and managed to move her dressing in the effort to rise.

The area will be well bandaged and the aftercare is crucial. Your own vet will be involved with keeping the port hole wounds clean. My mare had extensive and eye wateringly expensive antibiotics for a good while, but she was injured and had an open wound which had leaked synovial fluid.

Good luck and I hope they can help your horse.
 
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AdorableAlice said:
You won't be present for the surgery. The hospital will practice a sterile environment in theatre. My mare had surgery in July for a hock injury.

You will need to have shoes removed before going into hospital. The hock area will be totally shaved and scrubbed clean. The vets are well practised at the procedure and you have to trust them. The GA will be done in a safe padded cell as will the recovery, with ropes on to help the horse up if needed. Mine sat on her backside for a while apparently and managed to move her dressing in the effort to rise.

The area will be well bandaged and the aftercare is crucial. Your own vet will be involved with keeping the port hole wounds clean. My mare had extensive and eye wateringly expensive antibiotics for a good while, but she was injured and had an open wound which had leaked synovial fluid.

Good luck and I hope they can help your horse.
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Thank you so much for all the info. Means a lot. Can you tell me what happened to your mare's hock?
 
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I used to work in equine practice so may be able to answer a few questions but every practice will be different. As AA says you will need to leave your horse at the clinic and may need to leave him there the night before so they can start early and also a night or two afterwards depending on what they find and how he recovers from the GA. If he has to stay you should be able to visit him the next day.

Hard though it is try not to stress too much about what they may or may not find. There are always risks involved with a GA & surgical procedure and your vet should be able to explain these to you. Your horse has issues that haven't been able to be resolved with treatment so far so the arthroscopy is most likely the best way to try to find out what's going on and to hopefully fix it.
 
AdorableAlice

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SpartiTarti said:
Thank you so much for all the info. Means a lot. Can you tell me what happened to your mare's hock?
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Kicked in the field end of July 2019 small wound on inside of hock, little blood but plenty of synovial fluid. Horse was in shock and the incident had only just happened when she was found. I am fortunate to have amazing vets and they were with me in 20 minutes. Horse was assessed where she had been found and thankfully a vehicle could be got to her.

She was non weight bearing but after being assessed it was thought that the hock structures were intact. Lots of pain relief and antibiotics given in the field. She managed to walk to the yard where she had extensive xrays to confirm nothing broken, and the hospital was put on stand by to receive her for flushing.

She was in theatre at 12 having been found at 8am. The hospital vets contacted me at 6ish and confirmed successful arthroscopy with no bone chips and many litres of flush gone through. She was in hospital for a week and on IV antibiotics and pain relief for 4 days, followed by oral antib's and reduced pain relief. Reducing the pain relief lets the vet notice quickly if there is any infection starting to brew. I was allowed to take her to pick grass on the hospital lawns from day 4.

She came home on day 7 with oral antib's and my vet changed the dressing every other day and took stitches out. She did 6 weeks in box with hand grazing followed by turn out in a tiny fenced off patch which was moved daily.

I was in no rush to bring her back to work as the season had finished and we missed the only show I had wanted to do so I just turned her out. She was shod in November and hacked lightly. She is back in work now and will be heading to county shows as a small hunter. No scarring or evidence of anything on the hock. She was incredibly lucky to have been found so quickly and to have been in a superb hospital.

My guidance to you, having learnt from my experience, would be to listen to and ensure you do what the vets instructs you do to after the procedure.67523383_10217877570105039_7844152489287876608_o.jpg
 
AandK

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SpartiTarti said:
Heya. Were you present during to surgery or you just leave a horse and wait it out? GA is really scary to me, so can you give me more info about that? How is your horse now? xx
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He is fine now, on field rest until the end of Feb when he is due to go to the vets for another scan and assessment. All being well, I will then be able to start bringing him back into work. His recovery has been longer due to it being a ligament issue rather than a bone chip.
I dropped my horse off at the vets the evening before his op, he was in theater first thing the next day. Usually they are allowed home the day after the op (all going well) but he stayed an extra day after as the GA slowed his gut down. They will have a big team to look after your horse while he is in surgery and when he comes round from the GA. In terms of aftercare, the hock was bandaged and this was changed every 2-3 days. After 2 weeks the stitches came out.
 
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SpartiTarti

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@AdorableAlice Your horse is gorgeous. Xx

Thank you everyone for your info! I cannot express how grateful I am. I still don't know the exact date for surgery, but vet said second half of the next week. So I'm guessing Thursday-Friday.. Earlier the better. I'm really stressed out, and my boy is thankfully feeling great, except for having a large horribly swollen hock. I will keep you updated as soon as I know more. :/
 
AdorableAlice

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Thank you, I bred her, ordered a 16.2 bay gelding and got a 15.1 nearly ginger mare !

Good luck with your lad, fingers crossed for a good prognosis.
 
AdorableAlice

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SpartiTarti said:
@AdorableAlice Well she was a nice surprise then :)
By the end of this week he goes to the clinic, and Tuesday he has his surgery. Will keep you all updated. Just hoping he makes it through. Xx
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He will make it through, it is a procedure the equine hospitals do time and time again. If there was any doubt his health or age couldn't cope with the GA they will tell you.
 
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SpartiTarti

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Going to pick up my boy on Sunday. They told me he was very nice and a good patient. Joint turned out to be septic, but all is clear now. They also did joint lavage. I will probably know more details on Sunday. After 2 weeks the stitches are removed, and he will be on box rest for a month. And back to ridden work in 10-12 weeks. In 6 weeks we will recheck a fluid sample from the joint. Can't wait to see him, and to hear about everything else!
 
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My boy settled back home very well. He's having stitches removed on Tuesday. Wounds healed really well, if it wasn't for stitches you wouldn't know he had them. Our protocol is: 2 weeks after surgery hand walking 2x 10 minutes. After 4 weeks small paddock turn out and light lounging. After 6 weeks test joint synovial fluid. If clear medicate the hock. And after 8-10 weeks back to riding. If anyone was interested. :) His hock is still boggy and it may never go away. But I have one question, how long is the joint going to be inflamed after surgery? He still has considerable amount of heat in that joint. So if anyone has any experience, because heat is worrying me. He gets oral bute. Thanks all. <3
 
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