Due to trauma, infection excess of serous fluid is secreted by the walls of the bursa.
Treatment with drainage and bandaging should bring the swelling down. Steroids should be used if infection is not the case.

This is a 5 year old standardbred who is still racing. Although the fetlock joint is very bad, it has become chronic and is enabling the horse to race. He is defiantly at the end of his racing career.
The horse has been kept racing thanks to frequent shock wave therapy.

The optimal treatment is using laser technology because it causes tissue to evaporate and allows a lower percentage of granulation tissue to fill the lesion.

This horse had an ulcer on the soft palate that was displaced as well (DDSP). The ulcer was due to the permanent displacement of the soft palate and the abnormal air flow on the tip of the palate.

Signs for sinusitis:

- infectious diseases of the upper respiratory tract

- a one-sided nasal discharge of thick, purulent material or blood

- a distinctive and unpleasant smell at the nostril

- a facial deformity

The approach to sinusitis is to establish if this is a primary sinusitis or secondary to a tooth root abscess of one or more of the cheek teeth.

A thoural dental examination is warranted including dental radiographs and an examination or the upper airway (the nostrils) by endoscopy, if possible.

On this horse it was not possible and surgery was elected - Bone Flap. This was a primary sinusitis.

Epiglottic entrapment is when the aryepiglottic fold completely envelops the apex and lateral margins of the epiglottis. The difference with DDSP is when the soft palate moves dorsal to the epiglottis.

Treatment:
Transoral axial division using a curved bistoury. This is simply a hook bistoury that is inserted in the other nostril to where the endoscope is (usually the left nostril for that the endoscope should be in the right one, for safety reasons). the mucosa is cut by two or three swings of the bistoury. You can see the hook n one of the pictures. Another way to preform this procedure is by using a laser.

This is one of the common places to find chip fractures when taking radiographs of the hocks, when warranted… The x ray taken is a ML Oblique of the hock.

PS: this young horse has bone lysis of the lateral part of the talus. Unfortunately, this is a fare prognosis for his race horse career.

Is probably the most common surgery preformed when a horse is diagnosed with a Dorsal displacement of the soft palate due to poor performance. The history usually involves a gurgling respiratory noise, usually on expiration due to the air caught between the soft palate that sits on top of the rostral tip of the Epiglottis (Normally it would sit beneath the epiglottis). The main reason surgery is elected is due to the horse trying very hard but is just not running his best or “making a Break” which means that he stops in the middle of the race. Horses have large lungs and usually an obstruction of the upper airway causes them to “gasp for air”. This is a simple surgery although the recovery is a messy one due to the connection of the surgery site and the trachea. Actually sometimes the horse keeps breathing from the surgery site till the granulation tissue fills in. The text books say 50% success but to my knowledge it is more then that.

For more info see: The Merck Veterinary Manual -Dorsal Displacement of the Soft Palate

Surgery was elected since the pony is very well behaved and the family was willing to try anything to get him back to his usual self for that all the kids wanted to ride him again. The main reason for the formation of scar tissue in this area is usually due to trauma but another common reason may be I.M. Injections.

Treatment: resection of scar tissue. A drain was let in for a 36 h. post surgery for that there was substantial amount of bleeding during surgery. One dose Aminocaproic acid was given after surgery. Bleeding had continued for several hours after the operation.

The pony did very well. His gait abnormality had almost totally disappeared when was presented a month after the surgery. Very successful!

Arthroscopy can also be used to remove small bone fragments (chips), that cause irritation and inflammation of the joint. Big chips require more invasive surgery techniques.

Arthroscopy is a mildly invasive technique that allows a faster and better recovery when compared to traditional surgery.