Surgical treatments for tendon injuries in horses

Authors: Murphy D
Publication: Proceedings of the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) Annual Conferences, Volume 2014 AVA Annual Conference, Perth, Issue Equine / Public Health, May 2014
Publisher: Australian Veterinary Association

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Abstract: There are currently numerous surgical treatments for tendon injuries in horses and the aim of this paper is to provide a greater understanding of precisely what these treatments are, the rationale for their use and an indication of their overall success. The paper will focus on intra-lesional therapies as well as discussing adjunctive surgical procedures for tendon injuries. The discussion on intra-lesional therapies centres around the various biologic treatments that can be used for tendon and ligament injury such as platelet rich plasma (PRP), multipotent stem cells, autogenous bone marrow or bone marrow supernatant to name a few. The healing response to acute tendon injury (tendonitis) has no regard for the hierarchical structure of normal tendon and once complete, the residual scar tissue lacks many of the biomechanical features of normal tendon tissue such as elasticity and tensile strength, thus predisposing the tendon to re-injury. In trying to develop the ‘ideal’ treatment for tendonitis in horses, the current focus is and has been for some time now on tendon regeneration.

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