Case Studies

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Case Study: Avoiding a Common Pitfall in the Evaluation of Diagnostic Analgesia in a Mild Lameness Case

By Kevin G. Keegan, DVM, MS, DACVS | Updated on September 14, 2021 | Diagnostic Blocks, KG Keegan, OES Members Only

Signalment and history A 17-year-old Quarter Horse gelding presented for evaluation of left hindlimb lameness of 8–10-week duration. He was diagnosed with a keratoma in the left front foot one year ago which does not seem to bother him. Physical Examination The horse stood with the left hindlimb slightly externally rotated. There was sensitivity on palpation of the lateral condyle of the femur in the left hindlimb. No stifle effusion was noted. There was palpable evidence of bone spavin on the dorsal medial surface of the left hock, but the Churchill test was negative. Picking up the left...

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Case Study: Medial Meniscal Injury in a Saddlebred

By Kevin G. Keegan, DVM, MS, DACVS | Updated on January 07, 2019 | Case Study, KG Keegan, Medial Meniscal Injury, Saddlebred

Signalment: 11-yo American Saddlebred gelding History: Presented for evaluation of a suspect hind limb lameness of 1-year duration. Over this time, multiple distal limb blocks were performed by a referring veterinarian without improvement in lameness. Radiographs of the hocks and stifles were previously obtained (and later assessed on referral) and found to be within normal limits. The gelding has been treated with firocoxib and methocarbamol with mild improvement and injections of hock, stifle, and SI joints were performed with limited short-term improvement. The hind limb lameness is intermittent but has been worsening with time. Objective and subjective lameness...

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Case Study: When Evaluators Disagree... Evaluating a Bilateral Hind Limb Lameness

By Kevin G. Keegan, DVM, MS, DACVS | Updated on October 06, 2017 | Bilateral, Case Study, KG Keegan

() Signalment: 12-year-old Quarter Horse cross History: The horse developed a hind limb lameness about 3 months prior to presentation. Previous workup had isolated the lameness with blocking to the origin of suspensory ligament of the right hind limb. No additional imaging had been performed before this present evaluation. The horse had been rested with initial stall rest and then small paddock turnout but when returning to exercise was thought to still be lame in the right hind limb. Overview: The following case illustrates the difficulty of evaluating some horses with hind limb lameness and the benefit of having...

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Case Study: A Pain in the Neck

By Kevin G. Keegan, DVM, MS, DACVS | Updated on January 21, 2016 | Case Study, KG Keegan, Multiple Limb, Multiple Limb Lameness

Lameness is a clinical sign, not a disease. Finding the true cause of a complex lameness may follow many different diagnostic paths. Having objective data at one’s disposal is invaluable to more quickly get to the correct diagnosis, with the least amount of wrong turns down that path. The following is an example of a particularly complex case that provides a few keys concepts that describe this. Recognize when a lameness is not stable and avoid going down a diagnostic blocking path when the lame limb is unclear. While additional exercise is recommended when a consistent lameness is...

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