Suspensory Ligament injury-Treatment with PRP





In the past, an injury to your horses suspensory ligament frequently meant the end to their athletic career. Treatment consisted of enforced rest and anti-inflammatory medications, sometimes for a year with inconsistent results. In the last few years several newer treatment modalities have been developed to treat tendon/ligament injuries in the horse. Extra corporeal shock wave treatment and Stem-cell implantation have been the most popular. Recently a newer
treatment called PRP for Platelet Rich Plasma has been developed. PRP has been found to contain the following growth factors promoting tissue healing-
  • transforming growth factor beta (TGF-b)
  • platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)
  • insulin-like growth factor (IGF)
  • vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF)
  • epidermal growth factor (EGF)
  • fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2)
Many of these factors have been shown to enhance one or more phases of osteogenesis. PDGF, EGF, and FGF-2 have been shown to stimulate proliferation of osteoblastic progenitors. TGF-b increases matrix synthesis (eg, type I collagen) in vitro and in vivo. Angiogenic factors, including VEGF and FGF-2, can potentially enhance early angiogenesis and revascularization, as suggested by a recent study examining blood vessel formation in large segmental defects in the tibias of rats treated with platelet-rich plasma (PRP).(from the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons)
Using a sterile kit supplied by Vetcell Laboratories you use the horses own blood to harvest
platelets through a filter yielding about 8ml of PRP which can then be injected into the damaged
ligament. We also combine this treatment with several other modalities such as shock wave therapy to improve our outcome. It has yet to determined which if any of these treatments will be the best but thus far the PRP treated ones have shown a much improved sonographic appearance
Here are some clips of a sonogram showing needle placement and PRP injection in a suspensory
ligament high in the origin


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