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Spartacus
- Monster Laceration
Spartacus was a 5-year-old Spotted Saddle Horse gelding that sustained
a monster laceration by... believe it or not... simply walking into
a stall door.
The stall latch was protruding out just enough
to snag a piece of skin while Spartacus was entering his stall.
As the skin remained
hooked on the latch, it
tore away from the underlying tissue, creating a large flap
that continued to peel back as Spartacus
walked on. By the time
Spartacus stopped walking, the latch had penetrated approximately
4 inches deep into the underlying biceps femoris
muscle.
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Since
Spartacus was owned
by a husband and wife
team of medical physicians
(one of whom was an
emergency surgeon),
the wound was kept
fairly clean until
he was transported
to the hospital. Primary
closure was performed
at the clinic in 4
separate layers while
Spartacus was standing
and sedated. Care was
taken to line up Spartacus’ color
pattern and therefore
minimize any postoperative
blemish. Due to expected
necrosis (death) of
the tip of the skin
flap, that portion
was overlapped onto
normal tissue to accommodate
for wound contraction
during healing. A large
drain was also placed
within the wound to
enhance postoperative
evacuation of serum. |
Due
to the high-motion
nature of the tissue
over the thigh area,
healing of the wound
took a couple of
months. A permanent
defect within the
biceps femoris muscle
was expected in lieu
of the degree of
trauma, although
it was barely
detectable.
After 60 days, Spartacus
resumed his normal
activity and
performed well. No alteration
in gait or lameness was evident,
and the scar from the injury
was almost nonexistent. |
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