Narrowing down the cause of lameness inside a horse’s stifle joint isn’t easy, but a new test could help ease the pain for horse lovers everywhere.
In the past, veterinarians would have to determine the location of the injury in the stifle—which is a large, complicated joint—in order to determine how best to treat it.
Now, a needle orthoscope has been developed to help in that process.
“It’s the size of an 18-guage needle, which is small and is just slightly larger than the needle you would use to vaccinate your horse,” Dr. Bob Judd, host of Texas Vet News on the Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) Radio Network said. “This needle can be placed in the standing, sedated horse and the veterinarian can examine the inside of the joint and directly visualize damaged tissue by looking through a camera small enough to visualize the inside of the joint through the needle.”
The new technique is less risky and cheaper than previous methods, because it avoids the use of anesthesia.
Dr. Judd’s full report on treating stifle problems in horses can be heard here: http://bit.ly/1Ms06WT.