Subclinical ultrasonographic abnormalities of the suspensory ligament branches in National Hunt racehorses

Abstract

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Surgical management of marginal tears/avulsions of the suspensory ligament branches in 29 Thoroughbred racehorses

“…In the current series, forelimbs were more commonly affected than hindlimbs which is in accord with previous reports of SLB injuries in racing Thoroughbreds [1,2,12]. Sidedness (left fore most common) was evident in a study of SLB lesions in Thoroughbred yearlings in the USA [1]; this may be a reflection of anticlockwise training direction as it has not been recognised in the current group or other studies of racing Thoroughbreds from the UK [2,3]. Studies of Thoroughbred racehorses have consistently identified abnormalities in medial more frequently than lateral SLB [2,3,16].…”

“…Sidedness (left fore most common) was evident in a study of SLB lesions in Thoroughbred yearlings in the USA [1]; this may be a reflection of anticlockwise training direction as it has not been recognised in the current group or other studies of racing Thoroughbreds from the UK [2,3]. Studies of Thoroughbred racehorses have consistently identified abnormalities in medial more frequently than lateral SLB [2,3,16]. Lesions reported in the current study were more common laterally than medially but none of the previous publications made any differentiation of lesion type or location within the SLB.…”

“…Although it has been suggested that some horses with clinical signs of SLB desmitis have no ultrasonographic evidence of fibre disruption , in most cases this is pivotal to lesion identification . In the cases reported, four abnormalities, increased cross sectional area, a defect in the palmar/plantar abaxial margin, extrusion of disrupted ligament fibres and adjacent layered echogenic tissue, were consistent features.…”

“…Lesions reported in the current study were more common laterally than medially but none of the previous publications made any differentiation of lesion type or location within the SLB. Although it has been suggested that some horses with clinical signs of SLB desmitis have no ultrasonographic evidence of fibre disruption [17], in most cases this is pivotal to lesion identification [1][2][3][4][5][6]8,9,11,12]. In the cases reported, four abnormalities, increased cross sectional area, a defect in the palmar/plantar abaxial margin, extrusion of disrupted ligament fibres and adjacent layered echogenic tissue, were consistent features.…”

Highlights of recent clinically relevant papers

“…This cross‐sectional study by A. Fairburn and colleagues in the UK aimed to investigate the prevalence of subclinical ultrasonographic abnormalities of the suspensory ligament branches (SLBs). It also aimed to establish cross‐sectional areas of SLBs in the National Hunt population .…”