Lesions of the DDFT - anyone have experince of this

[LMacqueen]

Following my earlier post, my horse had an MRI on Monday which shows he has dorsal lesions/synovial masses on the DFT at navicular bone level. The vet has recommended that I opt for surgical removal called a bursoscopy or arthroscopy although the procedure only has a 50% success rate. Has anyone had an experince with this..?

 

[RachelB]

Well not exactly the same but my horse tore a 2cm long hole in her DDFT, below and along the length of the navicular bone. I could have gone for surgery to clean the area up to aid better healing, but my vet said it wasn't really my best option. I don't know about removing extra masses from the tendon though. If you trust your vet and he/she is actually recommending surgery over any other options, then it would probably be worth the risk..? Most DDFT issues have very poor prognoses anyway, especially those within the hoof capsule.

 

[itsmyparty]

If your vet is recommending surgery and you trust yr vet then I would follow their advice. Are they a good equine specialist? One of ours has small lesions in both DDFTs and the vet (O'Gorman's in Newbury who have loads of experience in this field) recommended Tildren, Irap and bar shoeing, all of which we have done (thank God for insurance). But his lesions were small, along with other "mild" navicular symptoms. If the lesions are more significant then possibly surgery is the only option. If you are not sure about the reccommendation then could you seek a second opinion?