EQUINE | Abstracts
This case series evaluated the outcome of 19 horses
with septic navicular bursitis that underwent navicular
bursotomy. In the majority, sepsis related to penetrat-
ing foot injury.
A standard surgical technique was used to remove part
of the deep digital flexor tendon to expose the navicu-
lar bursa and perform sterile lavage. The wound was
packed and a treatment plate fixed to the affected foot.
Systemic antimicrobials were given and intravenous
regional limb perfusion with antimicrobials was per-
formed at surgery and on 2–3 occasions post-opera-
tively. The median duration of clinical signs before sur-
gery was 14 days, with the majority of horses affected
for at least 7 days.
All horses survived to discharge from the hospital.
Owners were instructed on remedial farriery in the
post-operative period. Follow-up owner telephone in-
terviews revealed 16 of 19 horses returned to their pre-
vious level of performance, with the median time to
return to function being 4 months.Seven of 10 with an
athletic use pre-operatively were returned to work at
their previous level, with the remaining horses either
returning at a lower level or retired. No horses were
euthanised or required a repeat surgery.
The alternative approach of bursoscopy offers several
advantages over bursotomy, including being less in-
vasive, reduced recovery time and potentially better
chances of performing at a high athletic level post-op-
eratively. However, in chronic cases or where there are
financial limitations, this case series shows that bursot-
omy may offer a feasible alternative, especially when
concurrent regional limb perfusion and post-operative
remedial farriery are employed.
Bottom line: Bursotomy coupled with regional antimi-
crobial perfusion and remedial farriery is an alterna-
tive to bursoscopy with sepsis of the navicular bursa.
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J. O. Rushton, E. Kammergruber, A. Tichy, M. Eger-
bacher, B. Nell & S. Gabner http://onlinelibrary.wiley.
com/doi/10.1111/evj.12770/full
Effects of Three Blood Derived Products on
Equine Corneal Cells, an in Vitro Study
Short title: PRP and Corneal Healing
This prospective cohort study aimed to evaluate the
potential use of platelet rich plasma (PRP) and plas-
ma rich in growth factors (PRGF) for the treatment of
corneal disease in horses. Whole blood was collected
from 35 healthy horses and processed to yield serum,
PRGF (using the Endoret® PRGF system) and PRP (us-
ing the E-PET™ system).
The corneas from six horses deemed to have no cor-
neal abnormalities were removed within one hour of
euthanasia and processed to allow for culture of cor-
neal limbal and stromal cells. Cells were then treated
with a medium containing 20% of one of the three
blood-derived products. Cell proliferation and migra-
tion were then compared amongst treatment groups in
both single cell and co-culture systems.
After 48 hours of the treatment protocol, cell prolif-
eration was seen to increase in the PRP group, remain
relatively constant in the PRGF group, and decrease
upon serum treatment. However, overall, there was no
significant difference between the groups in relation
to cell proliferation. Cell migration was significantly
higher in the serum and PRP groups, and closure of a
cell-free area was significantly faster in the PRP group.
Bottom Line: PRP shows promise as an aid to corneal
healing in horses.
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• Volume 19 no 4 • December 2017 •
9