tendon sheath synovitis - treatment?

alsxx

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Could any of you wonderful HHO'ers advise on treatment options/experiences for this please?

I am getting conflicting advise and obviously want to do whats best for mare.

She had it (LH) injected with steroids and received a course of hyonate intravenously. Did resolve problem for 2 months (all that time on box rest and still is), however it has flared up again. When she had it treated she was still sore on 2 other legs, and its re-appearance also conincides with her going very lame for a really bad abscess on the RF (she was also sent away for an independant opinion and so was trotted up and lunged for 5 days which I don't think helped as she was then lame only on the diagonal pair).

I am being on one hand advised to try another treatment and on the other to go for an evaluation under ga. Are there any other options out there, and anyone have experience of twice medicating them/going down the ga route (I really DO NOT want to do that if I can help it).

Thanks all

A x
 
My horse had this following pecking badly upon landing after a steeplechase fence on a three day event. Initially I treated it with cold hosing and ice packs which had limited effect. He had hyonate injected and was kept on box rest for 5 weeks with controlled exercise on the walker for another week afterwards before being allowed to be turned out and having walk work for a fortnight followed by trotting, cantering, etc. It is fine now, the injury took about 6 months all in all from doing it to being 100% on it. You need to speak to your vet and find out what the GA results will show, and can this not be done under heavy standing sedation instead? Has the area just got enlarged again or is she lame? Whos is advising you on your two choices?
 
Applecart, the area is slightly enlarged and warm again, however this does go down if she walks. She was lame on it when she went for independant opinion (and it blocked) on the lunge, however she was trotted up yesterday and was fine, and on the lunge on hard (which i didnt see) with my own vet, who said it actually got better although i dont think sound.

She will need to be reassessed once abscess is completely resolved.

Its other vet who advised the GA route (however said vet does not accept that she could have made it flare up again as a result of compensation as she WAS sound on it), but my vet thinks its worth another treatment once front end resolves, and to then follow the process you described above. I do know of a horse that was a possible pts as it was so bad, and he had 2 treatments and has been sound on it ever since.
 
are you sure there isn't more to the injury. Have you had a recent scan etc? Could be nothing but you might want to rule out accessory ligamnet and manica flexoris. that later is very difficult to see on scan however.
My own horse had a hind tendon sheath tenosynovitis which was treated with ice/hosing/bandaging and therapeutic ultrasound for 2 weeks, then scanned to assess the damage followed by a 4 week course of cartrophen, combined with box rest and hacking in straight lines for 8 weeks. I also laser'd it every other day. it has resolved and he is now fine. He was lame initailly in the first few days and was sound after that.
i was told that fibrous tissue may form which could lead to it flaring up etc which would then cause it to go chronic, so was very careful in those 10 weeks or so of box rest and hacking.
 
Oops sorry, meant to say - nothing on ultrasound, and she had it MRI'd on thursday - nothing really to see but apparantly there was some movement artifact.

Which is why I'm reluctant to go nosing under GA if nothing has shown on two scans.

But does anyone know what other treatment there generally is for this?
 
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