Long‐term athletic performance in sport horses after desmotomy of the accessory ligament of the deep digital flexor tendon

Background Outcome after desmotomy of the accessory ligament of the deep digital flexor tendon (AL‐DDFT) to treat flexural deformity of the distal interphalangeal joint has been reported to be excellent. However, no studies have compared long‐term athletic performance of sport horses exposed to desm...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Equine veterinary journal 2022-05, Vol.54 (3), p.495-501
Main Authors: Wismann, Emilie S., Jacobsen, Stine, Thøfner, Martin, Ladefoged, Søren, Ekstrøm, Claus, Lindegaard, Casper
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
accessory ligament of the deep digital flexor tendon
Animals
Athletic Performance
Cohort Studies
desmotomy
flexural limb deformity
horse
Horse Diseases - surgery
Horses
Humans
Ligaments - surgery
Retrospective Studies
Tendons
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Summary:Background Outcome after desmotomy of the accessory ligament of the deep digital flexor tendon (AL‐DDFT) to treat flexural deformity of the distal interphalangeal joint has been reported to be excellent. However, no studies have compared long‐term athletic performance of sport horses exposed to desmotomy of the AL‐DDFT to that of matched controls. Objectives The objective of this study is to compare long‐term athletic performance in sports horses subjected to desmotomy of the AL‐DDFT with the performance of matched controls. Study design This is an observational multicentre retrospective matched cohort study. Methods Records from horses undergoing desmotomy of the AL‐DDFT between 2004 and 2015 were reviewed. Various databases were used to identify age‐matched siblings as unexposed controls and data on the horses' athletic careers. Results Seventy‐four exposed and 194 matched unexposed horses were included. Although not significantly different, the proportion of exposed horses entering competition (28%, 95% CI 16%‐38%) had a substantial risk difference compared with the proportion of unexposed horses entering competition (38%, 95% CI 26%‐44%) (P = .2). Career longevity was significantly better for unexposed (15.6 competitions [95% CI 10.7‐22.5] over a median of 570 days [IQR 210‐1340]) than for exposed horses (9.7 competitions [95% CI 6.4‐14.6] over a median of 219 days [IQR 2‐1159] for horses operated in one limb and 6.1 competitions [95% CI 3.6‐9.9] over a median of 446 days [IQR 23‐603 days] for horses operated in two limbs, P 
ISSN:0425-1644
2042-3306
DOI:10.1111/evj.13472