Discussion on Odd swelling? fx?
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Kim
Member
Username: fpony
Post Number: 386
Registered: 9-1999
| | Posted on Friday, Nov 30, 2007 - 7:03 am: |   |
Hi Dr.O,
I visited a 24 y/o QH this week who had injured his hamstring a month ago. It was a phone referral from a vet who hadn't seen the horse. She suspected fibrotic myopathy-and wasn't the horses reg vet. the reg vet had seen the horse that week for mild colic but only glanced at the leg and said it was fine.
The swelling had subsided but the horse wasn't walking normally but didn't appear to be in pain. The owner had taken the horse for a hand walk over uneven ground after which time the leg swelled up again-vet was called when the horse acted colicky as mentioned above.
I expected to see swelling around the injury of the hamstring and planned on using laser therapy to decrease the edema and promote healing. Well, the leg between the mid tibia and top of the hock medially was too swollen to even cause pitting. Was not hot or even warm. No swelling below the hock. The horse had a typical shorten stride with that hind leg consistent with fibrotic myopathy. The hamstring injury was at the lower part of the semitendonosis and had scar tissue. The horse was tender on it's inner thigh at a certain point -which I assumed it meant that it had torn an adductor muscle as well.
I told the owner to get her vet to come out again, but started the laser treatment as it will get the lymph system going to try to move things. I also sent a report to the vet who wouldn't talk to me on the phone. 
Could this actually be pooling of blood? Would a vet drain it if it were blood and can a horse have a fx and still carry on as his owner said earlier he had been running around when he was upset by something. The stifle wasn't tender. Can the horse throw a blood clot?
Kim |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: dro
Post Number: 19643
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Friday, Nov 30, 2007 - 9:43 am: | |
Without examining the horse I really cannot say Kim but it would be unusual to have a fracture in the femur and the horse bearing any weight on it at all.
DrO |
Kim
Member
Username: fpony
Post Number: 387
Registered: 9-1999
| | Posted on Friday, Nov 30, 2007 - 10:37 am: | |
Thanks Dr. O.
I was afraid there might be some sort of hair line fx in the tibia. Her vet is coming out on Thursday.Guess he isn't too concerned. I was just worried that he could throw a clot--horses don't do that?
On your swelling diagram the swelling is in the "3" area well below the stifle and just to the top of the tibia. Kim |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: dro
Post Number: 19647
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Saturday, Dec 1, 2007 - 10:15 pm: | |
Your description is a bit confusing as the stifle has as one of its parts the proximal end of the tibia. Yes horses can have blood clot thrombi.
DrO |
