Foraminotomy Surgery Now Available for Horses at UC Davis
An extremely specialized equine surgery performed by only about a dozen veterinarians nationwide is now available at UC Davis. Thanks to the addition of Dr. Carter Judy to the faculty, as well as a dedicated large bore equine CT scanner, the UC Davis William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) now offers foraminotomy surgery for horses with cervical foraminal stenosis—a narrowing of an intervertebral opening where the limb nerve root exits the spinal column.
The condition can be caused by arthritis, bone spurs, disc herniation, or thickened ligaments. It places compression on the nerve resulting in pain and numbness that can develop into lameness and behavior issues such as ataxia, skipping gait, and headshaking.
Diagnosing the condition—which generally occurs near the base of the neck where cervical and thoracic vertebrae meet—requires a large bore equine CT scanner, which was recently installed in the new All Species Imaging Center. Few veterinary hospitals have such equipment. Prior to obtaining the new scanner, UC Davis only had a traditional CT scanner whose configuration did not allow for imaging beyond a horse’s head and distal limbs.
Foraminotomies were first performed on horses in Europe in 2020. Similar surgeries in humans have existed for several decades. Foraminotomy surgery is performed minimally invasively, using endoscopic instruments to burr the foramen larger, relieving pressure on the compromised nerve root. Many horses show improvement less than 24 hours after surgery.
Dr. Judy performed the surgery for a year at his previous clinic before recently joining the UC Davis faculty. Even without an equine CT scanner onsite when he first arrived, he was able to perform the surgeries immediately at UC Davis with imaging acquired from other hospitals. But now with the large bore equine CT scanner, the wait times and travel requirements for horses with this condition are greatly reduced.
UC Davis faculty surgeons Drs. Scott Katzman and Heidi Reesink completed foraminotomy training this year, allowing more appointment opportunities for this unique surgery. The VMTH is attracting clients from around the nation due to the limited number of surgeons who perform the procedure.
One such horse who had suffered from this condition is Frida, a 4-year-old Oldenburg mare from Washington. Osteoarthritis of multiple facet joints had caused foraminal stenosis, resulting in hind-limb weakness, range-of-motion and coordination problems. Foraminotomy surgery corrected these conditions, and she continues to improve.
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