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(Auer 2012); however, in this case, the foal was treated with single transphyseal screws across the medial physes of the distal radii. The angle of deviation corrected to an acceptable angle and the physeal dysplasia resolved. One foal in our series failed to respond adequately to the
single transphyseal screw due to implant infection. The screw was removed and a transphyseal bridge with two screws and wire was placed as an alternative in order to avoid the original, infected transphyseal screw tract. The angular limb deviation was corrected; however, there was a noticeable cosmetic blemish at the site of the screw and wire implant at the time of removal. Angular limb deformities occur in all breeds and types of
horses; however, tolerance of deviations from the ideal conformation is greater in some disciplines than in others. In the Thoroughbred breeding industry, there is greater pressure on breeders to produce horses with the perceived ‘ideal’ conformation, as some conformations have been shown to affect the athletic performance of a racehorse adversely (Anderson et al. 2004). This in turn has major implications on the value of individuals with less desirable conformational traits. While there is some debate about the ethical consideration of manipulating the horses’
natural
conformation, the described techniques are widely used, accepted and, ultimately, correcting undesirable conformational traits is in the best interest of the individual animal (Bramlage 1999). The procedures are also performed in cases as described above where severe deformity due to inappropriate development has and will occur if intervention is not performed (Auer 2011). Few complications were observed in our series and no
over-correction of deformities occurred. The use of the single transphyseal screw was effective in treating severe cases of angular limb deformities in both the fetlocks and the carpi. While single screws are widely used in treating fetlock deviations even in young foals (Adkins 2008; Roberts et al. 2009), many surgeons are still reluctant to place single screws into younger foals’ carpi. Although favourable results were achieved in this case series, the effect of single transphyseal cortex screws in the distal radius of young foals needs to be further investigated in a greater number of cases.
Authors’ declaration of interests No conflicts of interest have been declared.
Ethical animal research
All animals included in this study were privately owned. Owners gave written consent for elective surgery performed and the use of the material generated.
Source of funding None.
Authorship
Fig 3: Radiographs of the front fetlocks of a Thoroughbred filly before screw placement and at time of screw removal, showing correction of varus deformity.
© 2017 EVJ Ltd
A. Gray and P. Randleff-Rasmussen contributed to study design, study execution, data analysis and interpretation. All authors contributed to the preparation of the manuscript and gave their final approval of the manuscript.
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