Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Foal with elbow joint luxation - treatment options
By Rubio-Martínez, L M et al.·Published in Australian veterinary journal·2008·Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Spain·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Elbow joint luxation in a 1-month-old foal.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
This report discusses a 1-month-old foal that had a dislocated elbow joint, which means the bones in the elbow were out of place but there were no broken bones. Initially, the foal was treated with a method that involved realigning the joint and wrapping the entire leg with bandages and splints, but this did not hold the joint in place well enough, and the dislocation happened again. As a result, the foal needed surgery to properly fix the joint by placing artificial ligaments. If a young foal is not putting weight on its front leg and has pain and swelling around the elbow, a dislocated elbow should be considered. Ultimately, the initial treatment did not work, leading to the need for surgery.
Abstract
This paper reports on luxation of the elbow joint without concomitant fracture in a 1-month-old foal. Conservative treatment, with closed reduction and full-limb bandaging, including caudal and lateral splints, seemed successful initially, however, failed to provide enough stability and luxation recurred, and open reduction and surgical placement of prosthetic collateral ligaments was required. Luxation of the elbow joint should be considered when acute non-weight bearing forelimb lameness occurs associated with pain and swelling in the area of the elbow in young foals. Closed reduction failed to provide sufficient joint stability.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18271829/