Treatment of a Cyst-Like Synovial Hernia Associated with the Digital Flexor Tendon Sheath of a 17-Year-Old Pony

Abstract 

The aim of this study is to describe the successful treatment of a synovial hernia associated with the digital flexor tendon sheath (DFTS) in a 17-year-old pony. The pony presented with left forelimb lameness and multiple unusual swellings of the palmar and plantar aspect of the fetlock. The lameness was isolated to a swelling in close proximity to the DFTS of the left forelimb using diagnostic analgesia, and on diagnostic imaging, the swelling was found to be associated with the DFTS. The hernia resolved after percutaneous drainage and intralesional corticosteroids and atropine and pressure bandaging. Reports of synovial hernias in the horse associated with the DFTS are rare. This difference should be considered when presented with cases exhibiting similar clinical signs.

Keywords: Digital flexor tendon sheath, Synovial hernia, Atropine