Paul Desmet

Partial tibial neurectomy in 113 Belgian blue calves with spastic paresis

One hundred and thirteen double-muscled Belgian blue calves (69 males and 44 females) with spastic paresis (52 unilateral and 61 bilateral) were treated surgically by partial tibial neurectomy under caudal epidural anaesthesia. Telephone inquiries made at least three-and-a-half months later established that good results were obtained in 83.2 per cent of the calves; a considerable improvement was reported in 4.4 per cent which still had intermittent spastic contractions; severe hyperflexion of the hock necessitating early slaughtering was recorded in 4.4 per cent of the calves; and in 8 per cent there was little or no improvement.

Histological study of the innervation of the suspensory ligament of the forelimb of the horse

The innervation pattern of the interosseus muscle of the forelimb was studied in two ponies and two horses. The nerves of the suspensory ligament were studied histologically after neurectomy of the ulnar and median nerve branches proximal to the carpal joint. The results demonstrated that the interosseus muscle is innervated by the deep branch of the lateral palmar nerve which emerges at the level of the midcarpal region and contains fibres from the ulnar and the median nerve. These findings provide evidence that an ulnar nerve block proximal to the accessory bone would fail to anaesthetise the entire suspensory ligament.

Upward fixation of the patella in the horse - A retrospective study

The objective of the present study was to assess the incidence of upward fixation of the patella (UFP) in different types of patients and to evaluate the outcome of conservative and surgical treatment for correcting this condition. A particular attempt was made to find out whether corrective trimming and/or shoeing (CTS) is efficient in the conservative treatment of UFP, and whether a longer postoperative resting period reduces the risk of complications after medial patellar desmotomy (MPD). Medical records of 78 horses with intermittent or permanent UFP were analyzed retrospectively. Young animals and ponies were mostly affected, mainly during winter (P < 0.05). Seventy-six horses with UFP were treated conservatively, with follow-up being possible in 64 of them. This treatment, in which CTS seemed the most important aspect, was fully successful in 51.6% of these patients; 20.3% of them improved partially. In case of no response to conservative treatment, or in case of a permanent fixation, MPD was performed in 20 horses, which corrected UFP completely in 17 of the 18 followed-up patients. However, gait abnormalities were seen in seven of those 17 horses postsurgically, but with the incidence being lower in horses that had rested for at least three months (25%) compared to horses that had only rested for less than one month (66.6%). Results indicate that conservative treatment, with special attention for CTS, is worth trying before performing more radical procedures to correct UFP, and that a longer convalescence period after MPD is desirable.