Surgical management of chronic laminitis in horses: 13 cases (1983-1985).
Authors: Allen, White, Foerner, Gordon
Journal: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
Summary
# Editorial Summary Chronic laminitis refractory to conventional treatment presents a significant clinical challenge, prompting Allen and colleagues to investigate deep digital flexor tenotomy as a surgical salvage option. Their retrospective case series of 13 horses involved midpastern-level tenotomy performed on all affected limbs, with follow-up monitoring to assess functional outcomes. The results were encouraging: 5 horses returned to limited ridden work, 6 became comfortable on pasture, 1 showed clinical improvement before economic euthanasia, and 1 initially improved but deteriorated nine months post-operatively and was subsequently euthanatised—representing an overall success rate of approximately 85% for functional improvement. This procedure warrants consideration by practitioners managing cases where medical management has failed, particularly given that the majority of horses achieved either return to work or acceptable quality of life on pasture; however, the small cohort size and absence of control group mean findings should be interpreted cautiously and outcomes may depend heavily on case selection and post-operative management.
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Practical Takeaways
- •DDFT tenotomy at the midpastern is a viable salvage option for chronic laminitis cases that have failed conservative management, with approximately 85% of horses showing meaningful improvement
- •Realistic expectations should be set with owners: while most horses improve, return to full athletic function occurs in only about 40% of cases, with most suitable for pasture only
- •Long-term monitoring is essential as some horses may deteriorate months after surgery, requiring contingency planning with clients
Key Findings
- •Deep digital flexor tenotomy at the midpastern level was performed on all affected limbs in 13 horses with chronic refractory laminitis
- •5 horses (38%) returned to limited athletic work and 6 horses (46%) improved sufficiently for comfortable pasture soundness
- •2 horses (15%) were euthanatized despite initial clinical improvement, one for economic reasons and one due to deterioration 9 months post-surgery
- •Deep digital flexor tenotomy can be used effectively as a salvage procedure for chronic refractory laminitis when other treatments fail