Posted on 05/21/2006 7:03:50 PM PDT by Paul8148
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. -- Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro came out of a day-long surgery Sunday to repair three broken bones in his right rear leg and "practically jogged back to the stall," the colt's surgeon said.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=4894818
interesting story here. A shetland pony is not a throughbred, but this seems to be a breakthrough.
What is really sad is when you are willing to spend any amount and just don't have it. The treatment this horse is getting is only available to owners with mega bucks. The average or even above average owner would not realistically have this option of treatment. You can insure horses, but that gets cost prohibitive; to carry a policy that would cover this type of treatment is also out of the question for most people who own horses.
I am glad this horse is able to get this level of treatment, and I hope for the best for him.
That's true. Some breeds allow for shipped semen, Thoroughbreds do not.
No horse has muscle in the lower leg. It's just not the way they're designed.
Pretty remarkable indeed :~D
In this photo provided by the University of Pennsylvania, veterinary resident Dr. Steven Zedler stands in the stall with Barbaro after the Kentucky Derby winner underwent more than five hours of surgery Sunday, May 21, 2006, to repair three broken bones in his right rear leg at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pa.(AP Photo/University of Pennsylvania, Sabina Louise Pierce)
I was thinking the same thing as you were, when the surgeon, who is the tops in his field, said he had operated on all three breaks in his career, but never all on the same horse or all at one time.
This was a first, at least for him - and who would have much more experience in this than he does, ya know? So, I pray that this will advance the state of the art of horse medicine, if possible, just as Ruffian's tragedy advanced it to the water pool recovery from anesthesia, which may have saved Barbaro.
Terrific picture :~D
I broke my arm and it was three weeks later that the orthopedic surgeons decided to splice my arm together. A horse gets fixed the same day. Humans have fallen so far.
Thanks for posting the picture; good to see him. Praying for his recovery.
Someone in a previous post mentioned the horse's ability to "cover a mare" if he does survive. However, wouldn't there be more "high tech" means to insure that Barbaro's legacy lives on? Such as frozen sperm and artificial insemination? Wouldn't all that already be taken care of?
I would think that would be a matter of perpetuating his genes AND a matter of financial necessity in a horse like this.
Handout image of radiograph (front view) of Kentucky Derby champion Barbaro, made following a surgery at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center on May 21, 2006. (University of Pennsylvania/Handout/Reuters)
As we speak, an evil Hollywood producer is hiring three thugs to beat the jockey to a bloody pulp so that Barbaro and the jockey can recover together and then win the Big Race.
Incredible! Thanks for posting the photo.
I had 3 brothers that had multiple fractures of the feet and legs at one time or another, 2 of them had a pile of metal and screws and such used during surgery, all walked ok in time, none of them had this much metal and screws tho, it is pretty impressive what they have done here with Barbaro.
That band running down through the picture looks like the perforated metal band used for hanging pipes. It even seems to have holes drilled in a regular pattern.
The Jockey Club does not allow breeding by any other method than the old fashioned. Most breed associations do, but not The Jockey Club.
clap ping
23 screws were used along with the "plate".
--
excerpted
from
Barbaro's Survival 50-50 After Surgery
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/rac_barbaro_surgery;_ylt=AvbIZoRclxp7BEdZajArkvhsaMYA;_ylu=X3oDMTA5bGVna3NhBHNlYwNzc3JlbA
Barbaro sustained a broken cannon bone above the ankle, a broken sesamoid bone behind the ankle and a broken long pastern bone below the ankle. The fetlock joint — the ankle — was dislocated.
Richardson said the pastern bone was shattered in "20-plus pieces."
The bones were put in place to fuse the joint by inserting a plate and 23 screws to repair damage so severe that most horses would not be able to survive it.
When he came out of surgery, Barbaro was lifted by sling and placed on a raft in a pool so he could calmly awake from the anesthetic.
Richardson said the horse "practically jogged back to his stall" and was wearing a cast from just below the hock to the hoof.
"He's a real genuine athlete, there's no doubt about it," Richardson said. "Even the way he woke up from anesthesia, he was very much the athlete waking up from general anesthesia."
Richardson again stressed that Barbaro had many hurdles to clear.
"Horses with this type of injury are very, very susceptible to lots of other problems, including infection at the site," he said.
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