VORL

There are many similarities between the usage, and consequent injury, in knee joints and the jaw’s temporomandibular joint (TMJ). However, knee orthopedics are better researched and funded, resulting in tissue-engineered products and other ways to improve the lives of those affected. Dr. Boaz Arzi, professor and dentist/maxillofacial surgeon with the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, joined biomedical engineers and orthopedic surgeons from UC Irvine, orthopedic surgeons from Harvard University, oral/maxillofacial surgeons from the University of Texas, and oral/maxillofacial radiologists to research the subject further.

UC Davis has welcomed the latest standing equine PET scanner, the MILEPET, into clinical use.

Starlit Sky, 7-year-old female golden retriever, has not had it easy over the past three years since an initial injury to her front left carpus (wrist). Suspected of slipping on a tile floor, she hyperextended the carpal joint which caused her paw to collapse under her leg. The injury was so severe that one veterinarian suggested amputation. Several failed surgeries and a similar injury to her right leg for overcompensation left Starlit Sky in a constant state of pain – wearing braces and enduring rigorous rehabilitation activities, none of which seemed to ultimately solve the problems. Determined to not have this be her fate in life, Starlit Sky’s owner Patricia Chiara took their physical therapist’s advice and brought her to the UC Davis veterinary hospital for an evaluation.

When Bella, a 7-year-old Thoroughbred maiden mare, went into labor last month, her owners Tom and Nicole Bachman were excited and sprang into action. But they soon realized something was terribly wrong.

One year ago, on December 12, 2019, Santa Anita Park installed the world’s first MILE-PET device, a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner specifically designed to image standing racehorses. This installation, one of several measures to reduce breakdowns at the racetrack, received a lot of attention at a time when Santa Anita was just coming out of a challenging racing season, with a cluster of horse fatalities early in the year.

A recent study by Sarah Shaffer, Dr. Susan Stover and colleagues at the J.D. Wheat Orthopedic Laboratory at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine sought to characterize bone abnormalities that precede proximal sesamoid bone (PSB) fractures and determine if pre-existing abnormalities are associated with these fractures. The group retrospectively studied cases from California Thoroughbred racehorses that died from PSB fractures, and controls that died for other reasons.

DVM grad Ferrin Peterson, Class of 2019, is also a professional jockey. She has spent much of her adult life traveling the world to see firsthand how training and veterinary practices vary around the world. She penned an open letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein to consider the steps that have been taken to improve racing safety.

Sesamoid injuries in horses can be difficult to repair and even catastrophic; here’s what can go wrong and how to prevent it from happening.