Equine Surgery and Sports Medicine
The Equine Surgery and Sports Medicine Service at Oklahoma State University prides itself on providing outstanding care for your equine athlete or companion. Utilizing state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic modalities, the service strives to deliver the highest possible standard of compassionate veterinary care to all horses, from high-level competitors to pasture pets. Whether you need routine preventative care, a pre-purchase examination, or an in-depth evaluation of an illness or injury, the OSU Equine Surgery and Sports Medicine Team is at your service
The service is staffed by three equine faculty members, board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) in Large Animal Surgery. Additionally, one of these specialists is also board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation (ACVSMR).
These specialists are aided by four equine house officers. House officers are veterinarians completing post-graduate training in a specialty field. Our current house officer team includes two ACVS equine surgery residents and two equine medicine and surgery rotating interns. This group of veterinarians are complemented by fourth-year veterinary students completing their final year of training. Additionally, many veterinary nurses specifically trained in equine surgery and sports medicine assist our veterinarians and students while they complete examinations, diagnostics, and procedures.
The Equine Surgery and Sports Medicine Service utilizes the Gaylord Center for Excellence in Equine Health – Equine Performance Suite and the Oxley Family Sports Medicine Arena for examination, diagnostics, and treatment of our equine patients. Surgical procedures are performed in designated soft tissue and orthopedic surgical suites. Anesthesia and anesthetic recoveries are overseen by board-certified doctors in veterinary anesthesiology and nurses with anesthesia specialty training/certifications. Standing surgical procedures are also performed as needed or indicated. Hospitalized patients are monitored by doctors and staff in a 28-stall hospital 24 hours a day.
In addition to routine daytime appointments, emergency services are available 24/7 (including holidays). Primary after-hours emergency services and care for our equine patients is provided by two large animal emergency clinicians, one board-certified in internal medicine and one residency-trained in equine surgery. These emergency clinicians are supported by resident and intern veterinarians, veterinary students, and a staff of veterinary nurses trained in large animal nursing care.
Services Available
The equine surgery and sports medicine service provides extensive services for equine athletes and companions including evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of:
- general poor performance
- simple and complex lameness cases
- airway disease
- heart irregularities
- behavioral vices
Comprehensive Pre-Purchase evaluations are also routinely performed.
Soundness/lameness evaluations are complemented with the use of an inertial sensor gait analysis system called the Equinosis Q with Lameness Locator® which provides objective evaluation of gait symmetry.
The service performs a wide variety of routine, specialized, and emergency surgical
procedures including:
- Emergency orthopedic surgery (fracture repair)
- Emergency abdominal surgery (colic)
- Cesarian section
- Upper respiratory surgery (airway and sinus)
- Dental Surgeries
- Urogenital surgery
- Minimally invasive joint surgery (arthroscopy)
- Minimally invasive abdominal procedures (laparoscopy)
- Advanced wound management procedures
- Advanced musculoskeletal surgery
- Reconstructive surgery
- Tumor removal and treatment
- LASER surgery
- Electrochemotherapy
The service also offers:
- Diagnostic Imaging
- 1-meter and 3.5-meter endoscopes used to perform examinations of the upper and lower respiratory tract, esophagus and stomach, and urogenital tracts (urethra, bladder, and uterus)
- Overground dynamic endoscopy system to evaluate the upper respiratory tract while the horse is exercised
- Overhead and portable digital radiography systems capable of obtaining diagnostic x-rays of the limbs, head, neck, back, thorax, abdomen, and pelvis
- Digital ultrasonography machines for the diagnosis of injury or disease of areas including tendons, joints, heart, lungs, and abdominal organs.
- Nuclear scintigraphy (Bone scan)
- Computed tomography (CT scan) – 64 slice helical CT system
- Therapeutics
- Advanced pain management techniques
- Intra-articular medication/joint injections
- Extracorporeal Shockwave therapy
- Game Ready® cryotherapy/compression therapy
- Acupuncture
- Regenerative therapies including Platelet rich plasma, Autologous conditioned serum (IRAP ProEAS®), Autologous protein solution (Pro-Stride®), and Liquid amnion allograph (Renovo®)