Successful treatment of a severely contaminated open metatarsophalangeal joint luxation by arthrodesis

A horse with an open medial luxation of the left metatarsophalangeal joint with extensive cartilage and soft tissue damage and severe contamination of the wound was treated with a two-stage approach. In the first stage, the lesion was cleaned, the luxation was reduced, the wound was sutured and the limb was kept in a cast for a total time of 56 days. In the second stage, an arthrodesis of the affected joint was carried out, using a 13-hole broad 4.5 LCP plate. The limb was then kept in a cast for an additional total time of 56 days. At 70 days after the arthrodesis, the horse was brought in for a final check-up, and only a mechanical lameness remained at that time. No significant complications occurred. Previous case reports on the treatment of metatarso-/metacarpophalangeal luxations include neither cases as severe as the one presented here nor treatment by fetlock arthrodesis. This case illustrates that horses with a complicated, open luxation of the fetlock can be salvaged for breeding purposes.