December Case of the Month: A Spine-Chilling Injury
An emergency call was answered this winter when Sampson was being lunged, reared up, slipped, and landed on his back. The owner noticed immediately that the withers appeared abnormal and called the vet. On exam, the withers were hot, swollen, and very uncomfortable for him, however there had been no external damage to the skin. Radiographs showed up to 9 affected dorsal spinous processes: four were fractured and displaced while the other 5 had hairline fractured but were not displaced. Repair of fractured dorsal spinous processes is not possible as they are the location of many ligamentous attachments. Healing involves allowing the boney processes to scar down into their new locations. The owner was instructed to keep Sampson restricted to a small paddock, and to feed him in an elevated position.
Two weeks later, on a recheck exam, Sampson was quite comfortable, moving his head and neck willingly and easily, picking snacks off the ground despite having a hanging hay net available. He was also enjoying going for light, in-hand walks. The swelling had gone down significantly and was no longer sore to palpation. Although understandably stiff, there were no neurological deficits appreciated. Additional imaging showed that over the two weeks, all nine fractured processes displaced, with two of them rotating 90 degrees, both horizontally and vertically. Although the horse’s promising jumping career was abruptly ended from this injury, Sampson is living an enjoyable, comfortable, early retirement in a pasture.
