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

BACKGROUND

Suspensory ligament branch injuries are common in horses. Most of these injuries are grouped together and considered as a single pathologic entity.

OBJECTIVES

To report a specific injury of the abaxial margin of the suspensory ligament branches and to report its surgical management and outcome.

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective case series.

METHODS

All horses with suspensory ligament branch injuries over a 9-year period (2007-2015) were identified. Horses with injuries which, on ultrasonographic examination, appeared to have defects in the abaxial margin of the suspensory ligament branch, that were subsequently confirmed during surgery were selected.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine cases fulfilled the inclusion criteria with a specific lesion location on the abaxial margin of the suspensory ligament branch. Nineteen horses raced successfully after surgery, nine returned to training but failed to race and one was lost to follow-up.

MAIN LIMITATIONS

The absence of a comparable population of non-surgically managed horses in this study means that the contribution of removing torn tissue cannot confidently be assessed.

CONCLUSIONS

The location and morphology of injuries described in this study is consistent, which suggests aetiopathogenic commonality. This case series suggests this type of injury has an identity of its own, differs from other types of suspensory ligament branch injuries and represents a previously undescribed subgroup.