Desirable Results

Avalanche was subjected to surgery to remove the P1 chip from his ankle. General anesthesia and an arthrotomy were performed, the bone fragment was identified and removed, and damaged cartilage was removed with a very successful recovery. After the bull was allowed to rest and recuperate, he was given exercise and the opportunity to condition for performing again. Post-operative examination and radiographs revealed excellent healing at the surgery site with very little tissue reaction or joint damage evident. Avalanche was given the green light to enter competition, and had a very successful out at the Albuquerque PBR event.

I use Avalanche as an example of how we as practioners must question our approach to cases and thoroughly understand and evaluate our recommendations. Sometimes, we must be willing to concede that conditions change, that problems we assumed were correct may require a different approach after further evaluation. New treatment modalities are constantly being developed in other species and sometimes these may be modified for use in the bovine athlete. Knowledge must continually be updated and sources queried in order to provide optimum care for the bulls.

A case was recently reported of the successful repair of an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture in a mature bull. Five years ago, this common injury in the bull was thought to be a career- ending, and often, a life-ending injury. Now, it is quite possible to be able to save the bull for semen collection or even breeding. The technique was always available to repair the defect but we had no material that was strong enough to hold the repair. Recently, the discovery of an existing material with the strength to hold these injured structures together was brought to our attention. Thus, the opportunity presents itself that was not available a short time ago.