The surgical technique and the age of the horse both influence the outcome of mosaicplasty in a cadaver equine stifle model

Six pieces of grafts, 6.5 mm in diameter, 20 mm in length, were taken from each of 170 cadaver hindlimbs, using the cranial surface of the medial femoral trochlea for harvesting. The age of the horses varied between 4 months and 23 years. 30 limbs under the age of 12 years were selected for transplantation. Three of six grafts were transplanted into the medial femoral condyle using different combinations of tunnel depth and dilation. With ageing, a significant decline in transplantability was detected. In general, mosaicplasty cannot be recommended in horses above 11 years. Based on a previous clinical case (Bodó et al., 2000), a good surface alignment was indeed achieved with a combination of graft length drilling and dilation in most cases. However, the occasional entrapment of cartilage debris under the graft prevented perfect alignment in the present cadaver study in 27% of the grafts transplanted in this manner. Since the protrusion of grafts never exceeded 1.5 mm, we conclude that drilling 3-5 mm deeper than graft length with graft length deep dilation can avoid disadvantageous protrusion of the transplanted hyaline cartilage caps, achieving bone decompression at the same time.

Paraintestinal mesenteric abscess and chronic peritonitis in a bull

A 2-year-old bull was examined because of intermittent anorexia, signs of mild colic, and weight loss of 3 weeks' duration. A tympanitic resonance (ping) could be heard during simultaneous auscultation and percussion of the right paralumbar fossa, and a mass could be felt in the right dorsal quadrant of the abdominal cavity during palpation per rectum. Right flank laparotomy was performed, and intraoperative ultrasonography and ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration were used to determine that the mass was an abscess. However, the abscess could not be removed or drained into the colon because of extensive adhesions to other organs. Because the owner refused to pursue continued medical treatment, the bull was euthanatized. At necropsy, the abscess was found to be connected to a caudal mesenteric lymph node through a fistula. Histologic evaluation of the lymph node revealed hyperplastic lymphadenitis, and an alpha-hemolytic streptococcus was recovered from the abscess fluid. The most likely possibility for the findings in this bull were that the lymphadenitis was of hematogenous origin and that the abscess developed as a direct extension of the infectious process, similar to development of mesenteric abscesses in horses with chronic streptococcal infection (i.e., strangles).

[Subscapular liver hematoma and liver hemorrhage in neonatal age]

By analysing their newborn patients of 15 years the authors confirm the earlier observation, that the subcapsular haematoma is a common finding at postmortem examination of the newborns dying during neonatal period. The association of the pathological symptoms of hypoxic origin of the other organs observed at autopsy and the decreasing incidence of subcapsular haematoma as a results of obstetrical and neonatal intensive care make this disease of hypoxic origin probable. In spite of common subcapsular haematoma the haemorrhage of liver causing haemascos is relatively uncommon. In their five patients suffering from liver rupture they observed two types of this (immediate and delayed rupture of liver's capsule), which also differed from one another in their clinical picture. They are drawing attention to general use of ultrasound in diagnostics which means a new chance to diagnosis in alive of both types.