The aim was to study a novel model of suspensory ligament (SL) lesion. Under general anesthesia, a punch for skin biopsy (0.6cm of diameter) was used to create a circular lesion in the middle of SL simultaneously in the four members of six horses. All horses recovered without any important complication. Clinical and ultrasonographic evaluations were made during the post operative period. During the first two weeks, edema changed from mild to discreet, and pain changed from discreet to none around the surgical site. The lesions were easily observed by ultrasonography 48h after surgery as a homogenous anechoic area representing a mean (± SEM) 33.5±5% of the SL area, and did not change size during the first two weeks (P=0.77). In conclusion, the proposed model was efficient to promote controlled and homogeneous lesions in the four SL simultaneously without causing important discomfort to the horses. Taking in account these findings together with the possibility of evaluation of the ligament biopsy previously to any treatment, this method may be useful especially in studies testing therapies for tissue repair.
suspensory ligament; desmitis; horse; experimental model
