Test results for Kasane
The bone scan showed that Kasane has issues in her front right fetlock, ilial sacral joint, back left hock, and in her neck. The vet did some additional tests by repeating two of the nerve blocks. The low four-point nerve block (which blocks the fetlock joint) almost completely resolved her lameness issue. Some lameness was still present, but it was greatly reduced.
The radiographs of her fetlock showed a boney spot on the point where one of the ligaments comes into the joint. The ligament was slightly irritated. There were also signs of degenerative joint disease (arthritis), which may or may not be related to her lameness. An ultrasound of her leg showed no problems with the suspensory tendon (yay!).
The next step would have been either to wait a week and then do a nerve block of the fetlock joint proper (which involves waiting a week and then a joint injection for the nerve block) or to go ahead and treat the joint with an injection of HA and steroids. I opted for the latter since there seemed to be enough evidence pointing to the fetlock joint as a potential issue.
Her discharge papers say to wait 5-7 days before checking her lameness. When we were leaving the vet school, the vet said to wait two weeks before we’d see full results. So. I’m going to wait two weeks before checking her for lameness. I don’t want to get my hopes up. I have a feeling we’re in this for the long haul.
