wound | Horse Racing Free Tips

Does Suture Material Affect Surgery Speed?

Gelding operations are among the most-performed surgical procedures in the equine veterinary world. Though this surgery has been performed for many years, there is always room for potential improvement.

Drs. Ditte Marie Top Adler, Stine Østergaard, Elin Jørgensen and Stine Jacobsen, of the University of Copenhagen, wanted to compare a new, barbed suture martial to traditional suture material that requires the surgeon to make multiple knots to keep the stitches in place. The barbed suture material has tiny barbs on the surface that lock the material in place, eliminating the need for knots. Manufacturers claim the barbs make the material more secure and increase the speed at which the castration can be performed.

The research team used 45 horses that were brought to The Large Animal Teaching Hospital at the University of Copenhagen for inguinal castrations; 24 of the horses were sutured with smooth material and 21 were sutured with the barbed material. The scientists then evaluated any complications while the horse was in and out of the hospital. They also compared how long it took the veterinarian to close the surgical wounds.

There were minor short-term complications; swelling was noted in 29 percent of the stallions that had the barbed suture material and in 33 percent of the horses that had the smooth suture material. Three horses required follow-up care for castration complications. One had scrotal swelling (barbed suture material had been used); one had a weeping wound (smooth suture material had been used); and one had the wound reopen (smooth suture material had been used).

Veterinarians using the barbed suture material were able to close the wound six minutes faster than using smooth suture material.

Though the cost of barbed suture material is higher, it reduced surgery time by 40 percent and it did not result in increased post-op complications.

Read the full article here.

Ointment Containing Semi-metallic Element Helps Heal Equine Leg Wounds

Texas A&M researchers have found that an ointment containing a semi-metallic element is showing promise in healing lower-leg wounds on horses. The cream, which contains 0.5 percent gallium maltolate, reduced wound size more rapidly, reduced proud flesh and reduced the number of bacteria present on the skin when compared to a similar ointment without the element.

Drs. Shauna Lawless, Noah Cohen, Sara Lawhon, Ana Chamoun-Emanuelli, Jing Wu, Andrés Rivera-Vélez, Brad Weeks and Canaan Whitfield-Cargile noted that wounds on the lower legs of horses are difficult to manage: they can be difficult to keep clean and can be difficult to manage.

Gallium possesses antimicrobial properties, but it had not been studied in relation to equine injuries. The scientists sought to compare healing rates between gallium-treated and untreated wounds to see if gallium could help heal wounds that were inoculated with the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus.

The study team used six horses with induced injuries. The use of the gallium-infused ointment reduced healing time, saw less granular tissue growth and reduced the amount of bacteria in the wound when compared to wounds that were not treated with the element. The researchers concluded that its not just the antimicrobial properties of gallium that assist in healing; the element alters the expression of specific genes that aid in wound healing.

The No. 1 Factor To Determine Wound Severity? Location

Horses seem to have a penchant for getting into trouble, sometimes injuring themselves in the process. When trying to decide if a vet should be called to look at an injury, the main assessment of the severity of an injury is its location.

Size doesn't matter much when it comes to wounds, said Dr. Suzanne Mund, a veterinarian in the Western College of Veterinary Medicine's Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences. A small wound on a joint can be much more serious than a large wound over a lot of muscle.

More-severe wounds often occur on areas of the horse's body that has a lot of blood vessels, which increases the risk of bleeding and infection. Areas of concern include along the jugular vein, between the hind legs, around the elbow and underneath the skin. Injuries to the backs of legs are of great concern as many tendons and ligaments are located here. Wounds in any of these areas should be seen by a veterinarian as soon as possible.

Wounds that occur on high-motion areas like joints are fraught with complications, including the trapping of gas beneath the horse's skin. Wounds in these locations open and close as the horse moves, forcing air up and potentially elsewhere into the horse's body, like between the lungs and heart. This can become an emergency situation if the air collapses a horse's lung.

Tears or cuts to the skin are generally treated by flushing, draining and stitching them. Puncture wounds are more dangerous and can carry bacteria and debris deep into tissues, potentially encouraging an abscess or tetanus.

If there is an object embedded in a horse, it's important that it not be removed until an X-ray of the area can be taken. This will help guide the veterinarian on the correct course of treatment. Any wound that exposes internal structures is an emergency situation and a vet should be called.

Mund encourages owners and caretakers to call a vet if there is any question on how serious the wound is.