Posted on 01/28/2007 3:00:36 PM PST by HairOfTheDog
By RICHARD ROSENBLATT, AP Racing Writer 40 minutes ago
Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro suffered another significant setback over the weekend, and his fight for survival may have reached a critical point. After Barbaro developed a deep abscess in his right hind foot, surgery was performed Saturday to insert two steel pins in a bone, one that was shattered but now healthy, to eliminate all weight bearing on the ailing foot.
The procedure is a risky one, because it transfers more weight to the leg. If the bone were to break again, chief surgeon Dr. Dean Richardson said: "I think we'll quit.
"When things start to go bad, it's like a house of cards," he said Sunday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "If one thing fails, that puts more stress on another part. And if that fails, then you're stuck with managing two problems. That's why these are difficult cases."
The right rear leg was on the mend until recently. It's the one Barbaro shattered at the start of the Preakness Stakes eight months ago, and the three broken bones had completely healed.
Now this. The surgery, in which a cast was removed and replaced by an external brace known as a skeletal fixation device, addresses one problem but could create others.
Barbaro likely will have to bear more weight on his front feet because of his two ailing back legs, making him more susceptible to laminitis, a painful and often fatal disease caused by uneven weight distribution. Laminitis already struck Barbaro's left rear foot in July, and 80 percent of the hoof was removed.
"It's something that we are watching closely, and that could also be a thing that could lead to us quitting," Richardson said.
The colt was doing well Sunday, according to Richardson, and "we will continue to treat Barbaro aggressively as long as he remains bright, alert and eating," he said in an update sent out by the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pa.
Based on Richardson's advice, owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson have been making the decisions concerning Barbaro. Their major concern from the start has been to keep Barbaro comfortable.
"No one is interested in putting the horse through any type of misery," Richardson said. "We're going to treat him the best way we can as long as he stays comfortable. And we're going to stick with that no matter if his chances are 1 percent or 90 percent.
"If he gets to the point where we just don't think it's reasonable to go on, we will not go on."
Gretchen Jackson spent time with Barbaro on Sunday, and said her colt is "still bright-eyed and still eating.
"It's not over 'til it's over," she said. "I'd say he's comfortable and being treated very well. As long as he's comfortable ... Dean knows our feelings. We trust him."
After months of upbeat progress reports, Barbaro has endured several setbacks the past three weeks.
On Jan. 9, Barbaro had a cast placed on his left rear leg to help realign a bone. The next day, Richardson removed damaged tissue from the colt's left rear hoof, and Barbaro was placed in a sling to help him keep weight off his feet.
On Jan. 13, another section of his left rear hoof was removed, and a cast was placed back on his right hind leg for additional support. He was gradually improving, but last Thursday, Barbaro's left rear cast was replaced and a custom-made plastic and steel brace was applied to his right hind leg. The leg also was fitted with a special orthotic brace for more support.
In the latest setback, the right hind leg is again at risk.
The pins in the right rear leg are connected to an external brace, which is connected to a lightweight alloy foot plate. This results "in the horse eliminating all weight bearing from the foot," Richardson said Sunday in a statement. "The horse's weight is borne through the pins across his cannon bone."
Allowing the pins to bear weight carries "significant risk."
"We believed it was our only option given the worsening of the right hind foot problem," Richardson said in a statement. "Unfortunately, we felt we needed to take this risk because this approach offered our only hope of keeping Barbaro acceptably comfortable."
He explained Barbaro had been uncomfortable on his right hind foot because of an abscess that developed when the horse had a "period of discomfort" on the left hind foot.
"It is not laminitis, but the undermining of the sole and part of the lateral heel region are potentially just as serious," Richardson said.
Sunday, Richardson sounded as serious as he did on May 21, the day after the Preakness, when he delivered the news that Barbaro's chance of survival was a "coin toss."
"I'm upset, worried, not sleeping well," he said. "A lot of people are very, very committed and spent a huge amount of emotional sources on this horse. So it's very upsetting when things go badly."
Update from Dr. Dean W. Richardson on Barbaro’s condition
KENNETT SQUARE, PA — On Saturday, January 27, Barbaro was taken back to surgery because we could not keep him comfortable on his right hind foot. That foot developed a deep subsolar abscess secondary to bruising when he went through a period of discomfort on the left hind foot. It is not laminitis but the undermining of the sole and part of the lateral heel region are potentially just as serious. We attempted to manage the right hind foot in a cast and then in a custom fabricated brace but it was impossible to have access to the foot for treatment as well as acceptable stability and comfort. We elected to place his right hind in an external skeletal fixation device in order to provide the foot a chance to heal. This means that two steel pins have been placed transversely through his right hind cannon bone. These pins are connected to external sidebars that in turn are connected to a lightweight alloy foot plate. This results in the horse eliminating all weight bearing from the foot; the horse's weight is borne through the pins across his cannon bone. There is significant risk in this approach but we believed it was our only option given the worsening of the right hind foot problem. The major risk of the external skeletal fixation device is that the bone bearing the weight can fracture. Unfortunately, we felt we needed to take this risk because this approach offered our only hope of keeping Barbaro acceptably comfortable.
He had a perfect recovery from anesthesia and has been in and out of the sling since then. His left hind foot appears to be stable at this time. We remain concerned about both front feet. Remarkably, his attitude and appetite were excellent overnight.
We will continue to treat Barbaro aggressively as long as he remains bright, alert and eating. This is another significant setback that exemplifies how complex his medical situation remains because both hind limbs have major problems. Barbaro remains in the Intensive Care Unit of Penn’s George D. Widener Hospital at New Bolton Center. Updates will be provided when new information is available.
He's hanging on longer than Fransisco Franco.
Well, carp.
Just one thing after another.
He sure needs some relief. I hope he can weather this crisis and stay positive.
Sure doesn't sound very good. If he founders in his fronts, it's going to be heartbreaking.
All the best.
Poor brave pony. Remember Nureyev and try to keep going.
Don't veterinarians also take an oath "to do no harm"? I am sickened by the pain the greedy have put this animal through.
That right hind abscess had me worried the minute they mentioned it last week.
Nooooooooo, Barbaro, Nooooooooooooo!
Fix him, Lord, fix him! Please?
Is that supposed to be funny? Ass.
"I am sickened by the pain the greedy have put this animal through."
You don't know what you're talking about.
They should have been harvesting sperm since the injury and freezing it . Even if he has to be put down, the line goes on with artificial insemenation .
I don't think it's greed that have brought them this far at all. When they made a decision to make a try at saving him, that meant the further along they got, the harder it is to decide it hasn't been worth it. I don't know if they're approaching that decision now or not, but I trust that of all horses, he has more people pulling for him than most.
You can't register thoroughbreds unless they breed naturally. The Jockey Club doesn't allow AI.
And plus... to collect semen, he still has to be able to mount the breeding dummy.
ping
The Jacksons have said all along that they only want to keep trying as long as Barbaro is comfortable.
Greed has nothing to do with it. In fact, they would have made money by putting him down.
They bred Barbaro, they love him, they see him EVERY day...they are not doing this for the money.
Hair, I know you understand.
Last I will say on the subject...good night.
Excuse me? Would you like to explain what you mean by that?
Thanks for the info. I don't follow racing , but , still a shame to end a line with the genetic+++ for racing . Probably will change the rules in the coming "brave new world "
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