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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Horse with lameness in back leg - what is an enostosis-like lesion?

By Stieger-Vanegas, Susanne M et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2009·Picker International SX 300, United States·View original on PubMed

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Original publication title: Imaging diagnosis--enostosis-like lesion in the femur of a horse.

Species:
horse

Plain-English summary

A Swedish Warmblood horse had been limping on its left hind leg for three weeks. To find out what was wrong, veterinarians used a special imaging technique that showed an unusual area in the bone of the left thigh (femur) that was more active than normal. X-rays confirmed that there was a noticeable change in the bone in that same area. Further examination of the bone tissue revealed a specific type of bone growth called an enostosis-like lesion, which can cause pain in horses with ongoing lameness. This condition was identified as a possible source of pain for horses that are limping without a clear cause.

Abstract

An enostosis-like lesion was diagnosed in the left femur of a Swedish Warmblood horse that had a left hindlimb lameness of 3 weeks duration. With scintigraphy using technetium 99m-hydroxymethylene diphosphonate (99mTc-HDP) a marked regional focal increase in radioactivity was identified in the medullary cavity of the left femur. Radiographically there was a corresponding focal increase in bone opacity in the middiaphysis of the left femur. Histopathologically, a 5cm area of bone matrix was present in the diaphysis of the left femur and confirmed as an enostosis-like lesion. Enostosis-like lesions should be considered as a source of pain in horses with difficult to localize, moderate to severe chronic lameness.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19788036/