An introduction to FP4 laser with Equine SDFT injuries in combination with an ex vivo comparative study: How to induce core lesions in Equine Tendons in a standardized fashion.

Abstract

Equine tendon injuries tend to be a real challenge for clinicians, because of the slow healing capacity of this inert and collagen rich tissue. There are many different medical treatment approaches described, some of which have been objectively evaluated, while others are being applied in a more empirical way. At this point there is great interest for regenerative therapies to treat tendon injuries. In order to be able to evaluate these treatment options there is need for a practical feasible and reproducible technique to induce standardized lesions in tendon tissue. The aim of the current research project was to provide a literature overview of available peer reviewed studies on induction of standardized lesions in equine tendons for research purposes and secondly, to apply some of these techniques on horse legs obtained in the slaughterhouse. This study fits into a larger project in which High Field Laser therapy for treatment of tendon injuries is evaluated. Available techniques to induce standardized tendon lesions in horses are the collagenase technique1,2, the collagenase gel technique by A. Watts et al, 2012 and the surgical technique by Schramme et al, 2010. In our hands, and for the purpose of serving the high field laser therapy study, the technique that most resembled natural occurring lesions and that induced the most controllable, repeatable lesions and proved to be the safest and most practical technique was the surgical technique by Schramme et al., 2010.