F. H. B. Ximenes

Treatment of a Periarticular Tibial Fracture in a Foal with a Hybrid External Fixator

OBJECTIVE To report repair of a right proximal tibial Salter-Harris type II fracture in a foal with a hybrid external fixator (HEF). STUDY DESIGN Case report. ANIMALS A 5-month-old male foal. METHODS After open surgical reduction, an HEF built with wires, 2 half-rings, 3 half-threaded connecting rods, and Schanz pins was used to stabilize the fracture. RESULTS Immediately after surgery, the foal had relatively good weight bearing. The HEF was removed at 60 days after radiographic confirmation of healing. CONCLUSIONS HEF can be used to stabilize a proximal tibial Salter-Harris type II fracture in a 5-month-old foal. CLINICAL RELEVANCE HEF should be considered as another option for repair of proximal tibial Salter-Harris type II fractures in foals.

Macroscopic, histochemical, and immunohistochemical comparison of hysterorrhaphy using catgut and chitosan suture wires

The objective of the current article was to compare the quality of the healing process after hysterorrhaphy with catgut and chitosan suture wires via macroscopic, histochemical, and immunohistochemical evaluations. Seven ewes were submitted to a video-assisted laparotomy. A hysterectomy was performed with subsequent catgut and chitosan hysterorrhaphy in both horns. Then, macroscopic evaluation and biopsies of the hysterorrhaphy and control areas were carried out after 30 days. Although postoperative adhesion was observed in five animals of the catgut group, no adhesions were detected in the chitosan one. Additionally, there was a significant difference in increasing collagen type III and connective tissue for the chitosan group when compared to the control and catgut groups. A larger amount of blood vessels was also observed in the control group in comparison with the catgut and chitosan groups. Collagen type I and vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) were significantly different among groups. Thus, chitosan promoted a preventive effect on postoperative adhesion formation in the hysterorrhaphy areas, with increasing collagen type III deposition during tissue mending, which granted an enhanced healing process.

Forma nervosa da artrite-encefalite caprina

Two cases are described of female goats, Saanen crossbreds, two months old, with clinical signs of hind limb paresis, incoordination, difficulty breathing and cachexia, which were subjected to euthanasia due to unfavorable prognosis. At necropsy it was possible to observe that there was congestion of the central nervous system (CNS) and pulmonary consolidation in both goats. Microscopic changes were characterized by multifocal lymphoplasmacytic leucoencephalomielitis, with vacuolization of neuropile and axonal spheroids, leptomeningitis, interstitial nonsupurative pneumonia in goat A and bacterial bronchopneumonia in goat B. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was positive for the caprine arthritis - encephalitis virus in thalamus fragments. The agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test was performed in sera sample of twenty animals and sixteen resulted positive. Diagnosis of the nervous form of caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus (CAEV) infection was based on clinical and pathological status, IHC and AGID. This clinical presentation of CAE could be uncommon in Brazil, but must be considered in case of neurologic diseases in small ruminants.