Surgical treatments for cartilage disease in the horse

Authors: Murphy DJ
Publication: Proceedings of the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) Annual Conferences, Volume 2014 AVA Annual Conference, Perth, Issue Equine, May 2014
Publisher: Australian Veterinary Association

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Abstract: This paper provides a review of the latest surgical techniques for cartilage resurfacing in the horse and compares them with more classical treatments for cartilage damage. The classical techniques for management of cartilage damage, especially full thickness defects include curettage, spongialization (exposure of cancellous bone), subchondral drilling and abrasion arthroplasty. However none of these techniques have shown to be any better than each other in terms of quality of repair tissue or improved function – particularly over time. Articular cartilage repair remains a significant challenge to clinicians and researchers alike because of the difficulty in regenerating hyaline cartilage.

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