Repair of ear cartilage fracture in the horse using Kirschner wire

One of the most common methods used in horses to restrain them is rolling up their ear’s pinna, which is involved some fracture for the animal, albeit it is convenient. The important defect of this method is the probability of fracture in the ear cartilage. Traditionally used approaches for restraining horses also possessed disadvantages for the animal such as leaving scar tissues and leading to an unfavorable appearance of the horse ear. The present study aims at employing a novel approach to prevent fracture in the horse ear as well as solving other undesirable effects on the animal’s appearance. For this purpose, ۵ horses were selected to proceed this investigation, with a weight average of ۴۵۰ ± ۵۰ kg and an age average of ۳-۷ years old. After general anesthesia, the area of surgery was prepared and the ear cartilage was immobilized using a Kirschner wire. Afterward, the interrupted suture was utilized to stitch the ear and a radiograph was depicted from the area of Kirschner wire to reassure of proper immobilization of Kirschner wire. The area of surgery was controlled for ۲۱ days in the terms of having infection or inflammatory, and the granulation tissue of the ear. Based on the obtained clinical results in this study, it can be stated that the employment of Kirschner wire exhibited promising results in terms of healing speed, wound quality, final scar and faster return of livestock to daily activity.

Keywords:

Fracture , Cartilage Pinna of ear , Kirschner wire