A surgical adventure

A horse's stifle joint (in the middle of the hind leg) is the equivalent of a human knee.

It's sometimes called the "Mother of all Joints" because it is the largest, most complex joint in the horse. The stifle lifts the leg upward and forward, so it's critical to moving.  There are lots of ligaments in there (connective tissue that attaches bone to bone) to hold things together and keep the joint stable. A thin capsule filled with fluid helps with shock absorption and lubrication.

Just like the human knee, the horse's meniscal ligaments are prone to tearing. In a horse, this can be a game-ending injury.

A few weeks ago, Dolly's cherished horse Spanky became seriously lame.  An ultrasound exam indicated the bad news that it was a probable meniscal tear in the stifle joint.  We were devastated. But the problem with stifle injuries is they are difficult to accurately diagnose.  Arthroscopic surgery is the ultimate procedure, giving visualization of most of the joint interior.  But as you can imagine, horse surgery is a big deal, in every way.

Dolly made the hard but good decision to do it. She moved Spanky from his barn in North Bend to the Emerald Downs racetrack.  Along with Spanky, Dolly is a partial owner of racehorses, so fortunately they had an open stall for him there.  The arthroscopic procedure was scheduled yesterday at the racetrack surgical facility, performed by an equine veterinarian from Washington State University.  In short, he is the best there is.

Three of Dolly's friends (myself included) went along to provide some company and support.  We were all allowed right in the operating room.  It really was a privilege watching these professionals work, and quite amazing how they safely handle such massive and unpredictable animals.

He is under general anesthesia here, being lowered (by a crane) onto the operating table. His vitals were carefully monitored the entire time by a team of doctors.

And now being draped with his hind leg thoroughly scrubbed.

When all is ready, the doctor inserts the scope through several small incisions.  With us looking on anxiously, and wondering what we were seeing?  Good or bad?

Now don't be scared!  Spanky is going to be fine!  This is how a horse is gently removed from the operating room to the recovery room:



And in about an hour, he was walking back to his stall with us:

A bit groggy but looking pretty good overall, and happy to be with his friends again at the barn.  

Good news, bad news from the vet.  He has some tendon and cartilage damage, but the all-important meniscal looked OK.  Spanky has a pretty decent chance to make a full recovery, but he needs at least 3 months of stall rest-- a bummer during the summer riding season.  It was a quite a day for all of us.