Diseases of the Horse's Foot Part 10

The position of the limb most suitable for the operation is exactly that we have described as most convenient for the plantar excision. The animal is cast, preferably anaesthetized, and the limb removed from the hobbles, and held as far forward as is possible by an a.s.sistant with the side-line.

Professor Hobday's description of the operation is as follows:

'A bold incision is made through the skin and aponcurotic portion of the pectoralis transversus and panniculus muscles, about 1 to 3 inches (depending on the size of the horse) below the internal condyle of the humerus, and immediately behind the ridge formed by the radius. This latter, and the nerve which can be felt pa.s.sing over the elbow-joint, form the chief landmarks. The haemorrhage which ensues is princ.i.p.ally venous, and is easily controlled by the artery forceps. In some cases I have found it of advantage to put on a tourniquet below the seat of operation, but this is not always advisable, as it distends the radial artery. We now have exposed to view the glistening white fascia of the arm, which must be incised cautiously for about an inch. This will reveal the median nerve itself situated upon the red fibres of the flexor metacarpi internus muscle. If not fortunate enough to have cut immediately over the nerve, it can be readily felt with the finger between the belly of the flexor muscle and the radius.'[A]

[Footnote A: _Journal of Comparative Pathology and Therapeutics_, vol. ix., p. 181.]

The nerve exposed, the remainder of the operation is exactly as that described in removing the portion of the nerve in the plantar operation.

The wound is sutured and suitably dressed, and a fair amount of exercise afterwards allowed the patient.

F. LENGTH OF REST AFTER NEURECTOMY.

This is placed by the majority of surgeons at about three weeks to a month. Within that period no excessive exertion should be undergone by the patient. A certain amount of quiet exercise, however, is beneficial, facilitating the healing of the wounds, and accustoming the animal to the altered condition of his limb.

G. SEQUELae OF NEURECTOMY.

These we shall relate collectively, making no distinction between those following excision of the plantar nerve and those succeeding section of the median. It must be remembered by the surgeon, however, that the unfortunate sequelae we are now about to describe are likely to be far more grave when following section of the larger nerve.

_Liability of p.r.i.c.ked Foot going undetected_.--On account of the warning they convey to the surgeon, first place among the sequelae of neurectomy must be given to accidents following loss of sensation. Take, for example, punctured foot. In any case, in the sense of being unforeseen, it is accidental. In the neurectomized foot it becomes doubly accidental, in that not only is it unforeseen, but that it is for some time indiscoverable.

With the foot deprived of sensation, a nail may be picked up, or a p.r.i.c.k sustained at the forge, and no intimation given to the attendant until pus has underrun the horn, and broken out at the coronet. What follows, then, is that the hoof as a whole, or the greater part of it, sloughs off.

No neurectomy should be undertaken unless this contingency has been allowed for. The owner should be advised of it by the surgeon, who should at the same time enjoin on his client the absolute necessity of giving to the neurectomized foot daily and careful attention.

_Loss of Tone in the Non-sensitive Area_.--In addition to the mischief resulting from a wound going undetected, it must be remembered that the loss of tone resulting from the operation gives to every wound (however slight), in the region supplied by the removed nerve, a sluggish and troublesome character. Difficult to deal with as wounds about the foot ordinarily are, they are rendered more so by a previous neurectomy.

_Gelatinous Degeneration_. This is a condition liable to occur in cases where the operation has been too long deferred, and when considerable structural alteration has already taken place in the shape of diseased bone or tendon, more especially in navicular disease. It consists in a peculiar softening of the structures of the limb, accompanied with enlargement, due to swelling of the connective tissues, the enlargement and softening generally making itself first apparent by a soft, pulpy swelling in the hollow of the heel.

From this onwards the enlargement increases, and lameness becomes excessive, the animal going more and more on his heels, until, finally, no portion of the solar surface of the foot comes to the ground at all.

The case is hopeless, and destruction should be advised.

_Reported Case_.--'The patient, a brown carriage gelding, was brought to the Royal Veterinary College infirmary in a cart on December 31, the only previous history obtainable being that it had suddenly fallen lame a month before.

'The symptoms presented were excessive lameness of the near fore-limb. On being trotted, the toe was elevated each time the foot reached the ground, progression being entirely on the heels. Separation of the hoof for about 2 inches at the hinder part of the coronet; oedematous swelling from foot to knee, extending during the next three days to the elbow. Great tenderness between the knee and the fetlock; below this no sensation whatever, as a pin was inserted in several places round the coronet without causing any symptoms of pain. On further examination, two unnerving scars were found.

No treatment was adopted, and the horse was destroyed on January 6.

'On dissecting the leg, the following appearances presented themselves:

'The limb was very much enlarged, due to thickening of the connective tissue, the skin being removed only with difficulty. The tendons were soft and much thickened. A rupture of the skin at the coronet, just where the skin meets the wall of the foot. Large extravasations of blood at the back of the tendons, situated in the lower half. _External_ nerve trunk had become reunited, at the point of junction there being a hard lump about the size of a walnut. _Internal_ nerve trunk also had become reunited, and presented a thickened portion at the point of junction, but not so large as that of the outer side, and situated in the lower half of the tendon, about 2 inches higher than that on the external nerve. This nerve trunk was atrophied below the thickening, and had undergone gelatinous degeneration.

Judging from the scars on the skin, this side had evidently been unnerved a week or ten days previously to that on the outer side. The band stretching across the back of the perforatus, between the external and internal nerves, appeared on the inside to have become firmly fixed into the tendon.

'On removing the hoof, under the sole there appeared a large quant.i.ty of very foetid pus; the laminae were very much inflamed in patches. There was an enormous thickening of connective tissues in the heel. On cutting longitudinally through the perforatus tendon, there was exposed a large blood-coloured ma.s.s, of a gelatinous appearance, situated on the perforatus tendon, the latter being very much thickened, and growing to the navicular bone. The underneath surface of the superior suspensory ligament was much thickened, and firmly adherent to the bone; at the posterior surface of the metacarpus there was a quant.i.ty of gelatinous substance. The anterior ligament of the fetlock-joint was thickened; the navicular bone was entire, but showed lesions of navicular disease, being ulcerated. Section through the bone did not reveal anything further. It may be here remarked that the ulcerations were on either side of the central ridge, and not at all on the ridge itself.

'Microscopic examination of the tissue joining the two ends of the nerve together revealed a few nerve fibres; the general appearance was that of granulation tissue, containing capillary vessels, which were fairly plentiful, and comparatively large in size.'[A]

[Footnote A: _Veterinary Record_, vol. iv., p. 386 (Hobday)]

_Chronic Oedema of the Leg_.--In some cases there is a distinct swelling of the leg some time after the operation. This exposes the limb to the infliction of sores from striking with the opposite foot, with, of course, the difficulty in healing we have just described.

_Persistent Pruritus_.--This annoying sequel occurs in the neurectomized limb, with or without gelatinous degeneration, and appears to be without a remedy. The itching in some cases is so intense as to lead the animal to constantly gnaw at the top of the foot. As one observer has remarked, the animal may begin literally biting pieces out of his limb. The result of the irritation and gnawing is fatal. Great sloughing of the parts takes place, and the animal has eventually to be slaughtered.

_Fracture of the Bones_.--The sudden loss of sensation in a foot may cause the animal to use violently the limb he has for months past been carefully nursing. It may be that the lameness for which the operation has been performed has been due to disease existing in the navicular bone, and extending, perhaps, to the os pedis. By the disease the bone has already been made brittle, its substance and ligamentous attachments perchance weakened and broken up by a slow-spreading caries, and rarefaction of the remaining bone substance rendered almost certain. In this instance, the free use of the foot, and the application to the diseased structures of an unwonted pressure immediately after the operation results in fracture. With the rupture of the structures we get the elevated toe and soft swelling in the heel, as described in gelatinous degeneration. Treatment, of course, is out of the question.

_Neuroma_.--A further sequel is the appearance at the seat of the operation of what is termed an 'amputational neuroma.' This is a tumour-like growth occurring on the end of the divided nerve. It is composed of connective-tissue elements permeated by nerve fibres which have grown out from the axis-cylinders of the nerve stump. It may vary in size from a pea to a hazel-nut, and is frequently the cause of much pain. This must be cut down upon and cleanly removed, taking away at the same time as much of the nerve as is possible.

_Reunion of the Divided Nerve_.--We may say at once that 'reunion' in the popular sense of the word does not take place. At a varying period after section, however, we do get a return of sensation. This is brought about in the following manner: The axis-cylinder of the nerve, still in connection with the spinal cord, swells somewhat, and hypertrophies. The cells of this hypertrophied portion show a great tendency to proliferate and produce new nerve structure. This growing point splits, and gives rise to several fibrils, which are new axis-cylinders. These commence to grow towards the periphery, and, in so doing, grow through the cicatricial tissue that has formed at the seat of the operation.

After pa.s.sing through the cicatricial tissue (the amount of which tissue, of course, controls the length of time that insensibility remains), the growing axis-cylinders reach the degenerated portions of the nerve below the point of section. It is along the track of the old nerve that the new growths from the stump reproduce themselves.

The fact of the new growths having to pa.s.s through the fibrous tissue of the cicatrix before they can gain the course of the old nerve, along which latter their progress of growth is comparatively easy, affords ample ill.u.s.tration that as large a portion as is possible of the nerve should be removed when operating, in order to convey insensibility for the longest time. After reunion, of course, nothing remains but to repeat the operation.

_The Existence of an Advent.i.tious Nerve-supply_.--While not exactly a sequel of the operation, the fact that it is not discovered until after the operation has been performed warrants us in mentioning it here. It is not an uncommon thing in the lower operation to find that sensation and symptoms of lameness still persist after section of the nerve. In many cases this has been traced to the existence of an abnormal nerve branch.

In the higher operation this is not so likely to be met with. That it may occur, however, is shown by the following interesting case related by Harold Sessions, F.R.C.V.S.:[A]

[Footnote A: _Journal of Comparative Pathology and Therapeutics_, vol.

xii., p. 343.]

'In June of 1898 I saw a hunter suffering from navicular disease. After carefully examining the leg, I advised the owner to have the operation of neurectomy performed upon him. This he decided to do, and the horse was sent to me about the beginning of July.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 62.--DISSECTED EXTERNAL METACARPAL NERVE AND BRANCHES.

_a_, Metacarpal; _b_, anterior plantar; _c_, extra branch (probably from the internal metacarpal), conveying sensation after division of the external metacarpal.]

'The operation was performed in the ordinary way, without any difficulty whatever. The wounds healed nicely, but the horse still continued to go lame. Careful examination showed that there was still sensation on the outside of the foot. Thinking that possibly there might be two external metacarpal nerves, the horse was again cast, the operation being performed slightly lower down. Only the main branch of the external metacarpal nerve could be found. A piece of this was taken out, and the horse let up. On examination, sensation was still found in the posterior part of the outside of the foot. It was very evident that there was some abnormal distribution of the nerve, as sensation was still being conveyed to that part of the foot.

'As the horse was absolutely useless, and would have to be shot unless this piece of nerve could be found, he was again thrown, and after he had been anaesthetized I determined to follow the course of the nerve down, until I found where the accessory branch came from. This I found a little below the fetlock, about 1/2 inch below the point where the anterior plantar nerve is given off from the metacarpal nerve. It was about 1/2 inch below the spot where the anterior plantar nerve pa.s.ses between the artery and vein of the foot, and it was somewhat difficult to get at it.

'Fig. 62 shows the exact size and distribution of the nerves. After the separation of the accessory branch, sensation was taken from the foot, and the horse went perfectly sound.'

_Stumbling_.--In addition to the sequelae we have mentioned, it is urged against the operation of neurectomy that one of the first effects of depriving the foot of the sense of touch is a tendency on the part of the animal to stumble. From the cases we have seen we cannot regard this objection as a serious one. Nevertheless, as veterinarians, with a knowledge of the physiology of the structures with which we are dealing, we must treat the objection with respect, for, after all, we are bound to allow that stumbling, and a bad form of it, would be but a natural sequence of the operation we have just performed. The real fact remains, however, that cases of stumbling, even immediately after the operation, are rare; and that even when they do occur, the animal seems easily able to accommodate himself to the altered condition, and as readily uses the comparatively inert ma.s.s at the end of his limb as he did previously the intact foot.

H. ADVANTAGES OF THE OPERATION.

From the prominence we have given to the unfortunate sequelae of the operation it might possibly be inferred that, while not giving it our absolute condemnation, we regard neurectomy with a certain amount of distrust. That we may contradict any such false impression, we state here that in many cases the operation is the only measure which will offer relief from pain, and restore to work an otherwise useless animal. In support of that we will now quote the recognised advantages of the operation.

That in many cases, when all other methods--surgical and medicinal--have failed, there is an immediate and total freedom from pain and lameness no one will deny. This, if it restores to active work an animal that would otherwise have had to have been cast aside, is ample justification for giving the operation, in spite of its many unfortunate terminations, a real place among the more highly favoured remedial measures to our hand.

'For _Contracted Hoofs_, viewing them in the light of idiopathic disease, or as being the immediate cause of the existing lameness in the uninflamed condition of the foot, and when consequential changes of its organism have taken place which bid defiance to therapeutic measures, _neurotomy_ is a _warrantable resource_' (Percival).

'For _Ringbone_ neurotomy has been practised with perfect success, after blistering and firing had both failed, notwithstanding the work the animal had to perform afterwards was of the most trying nature' (_ibid_.).

For _Navicular Disease_, when that malady is diagnosed, the earlier neurectomy is performed the better. The greater work given to the diseased bursa and bone, and the return of the contracted heels to the normal, brought about by the greater freedom with which the foot is used, are claimed by many to effect a cure.

Writing of navicular disease, and mentioning his belief in the possibility of the diseased bone effecting its own repair after the operation, Harold Leeney, M.R.C.V.S., says:

'The expansion of the heel, and rapid development of the frog (in this and many other cases) immediately after the operation, has not, I venture to think, attracted so much attention as it deserves, and may have something to do with those cases which appear to be actually _cured_, not merely made to go sound by absence of pain.'[A]