Splint bone fracture/break

A

aelt

Well-Known Member
Joined
10 April 2007
Messages
113
Visit site
Hi, anyone had experiance of this? my brood mare got kicked yesterday. She has broken/ fractured her splint bone. she has open wound, bits of bone removed. xrays next week, then possible surgery. really concerned as shes in foal. Just want to know if anyone had this and what the sucess rate is.

Thanks
 
How long has she got to go? I used to work in an equine theatre and we operated on in foal mares if it was an emergency but I don't remember ever operating on anything heavily in foal.

The outlook for a fractured splint is very good,. obviously the GA risks are increased with being in foal.
 
[ QUOTE ]
How long has she got to go? I used to work in an equine theatre and we operated on in foal mares if it was an emergency but I don't remember ever operating on anything heavily in foal.

The outlook for a fractured splint is very good,. obviously the GA risks are increased with being in foal.

[/ QUOTE ]

Shes due end of july so only 6 months.

Will know more after the x rays which are being done towards the end of the week to allow things to settle. a few bits of bone was removed last night. The other concern is going to be infection.

Thanks
 
Where are you and where will he be going for the operation?

It's a very successful operation and I have heard of it being done under extreme sedation, as aposed to a GA.....
 
[ QUOTE ]
Where are you and where will he be going for the operation?

It's a very successful operation and I have heard of it being done under extreme sedation, as aposed to a GA.....

[/ QUOTE ]

Devon, not sure where she will go, she may not even need surgery but trying to fine out as much as poss. The vet said possibly western counties or Bristol. That would be great if done under sedation im really worried about the Ga.
 
My gelding had this surgery in late July under a GA. It went smoothly and he spent a week in the hospital, came home and had around three weeks box rest, followed by a month or so daily turn out in a tiny pen. I started walking in late September and he was back in full work by November.

When the bandages came off after the operation he had a humongous lump - looked like a second knee. This has nearly completely disappeared now and unless you knew it was there you probably wouldn't see it. He has no scarring at all and has been completely sound (on that leg LOL) ever since.

PM me if you would like any more info!
 
Hiya

My pregnant mare was 6 months gone when she had an open fracture of her hind leg, in late Oct last year.

She was rushed to hospital and it was thought that she'd need a GA to operate but as she is such a good patient they managed under heavy sedation / standing surgery. They didn't want to put her under a) because she was in foal and b) because early on they cannot guarentee that the cannon bone hasn't been damaged at all (sometimes hairline fractures take a while to appear on x-rays). After 5 days in hospital she came home and remained very calm throughout (she is a tiz pot so we were especially concerned about stress). She remained on confined box rest for 8 weeks and it all went very smoothly, apart from some proud flesh that had to be trimmed twice. She had x-rays 8 weeks after the accident to make sure the bones were OK and was then allowed to be turned out on 1st Jan
laugh.gif


It seems weird to think she has a splint bone with a 3inch gap in the middle. but it doesn't seem to bother her.

The only thing they have warned me about is that the bottom piece which they left in could in the future move upwards and cause pain / irritation, at which point it would need a GA to remove it, but we'll cross that bridge if / when we come to it.

here's some pictures, when she first done it it was about the size of a 5p, but I knew it was bad as there was tendon tissue flapping about (gross I know) and when they clipped her hair I could see a piece of bone sticking out. After her op. it looks liked this (see below) where they had to open it up a bit to remove all the bone fragments they could
wound2.jpg

wound1.jpg

mare3-1.jpg


And here it was 2 weeks later..
DSCF0003.jpg

DSCF0001.jpg


Within about 5 weeks the hole had closed completely.

If you want any advice or want to chat please feel free to PM me. I know what you're going through and it isn't any fun! Plus I have some good bandaging tips!
smile.gif


Best of luck to your mare and her foal.
 
My boy broke his in side & out side Splint bone on the same leg! he is fine went back to show jumping & never had any problems with it, Although he did have to be on box rest for 3 months I think when it happened.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top