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SUMMARY Intra-articular injection of sodium monoiodoacetate (MIA) was investigated as an agent for chemical arthrodesis of the distal hock joints in the horse. Five horses diagnosed with either spavin (three horses), a small tarsal bone fracture or a failed surgical arthrodesis, had 150 mg of MIA injected into the tarsometatarsal (TMT) joint of the affected hock(s). Eight joints were treated in the five horses. Follow-up evaluation by clinical and radiological examination took place over 9 to 14 months. Two of the five horses were sound at the conclusion of the study and one horse, although lame after flexion, was considered by the owner to have been treated successfully. One of eight TMT joints showed complete radiographic fusion. Complications after treatment included pain, chronic lameness and swelling. It was concluded that chemical arthrodesis using this technique can not be recommended as being a superior treatment as compared with surgical arthrodesis at this time but is deserving of further clinical evaluation.

The calcaneal fracture, which is considered to be the most common tarsal bone fracture, has rather difficulty in accurate diagnosis, classification and proper treatment. Furthermore, its prognosis is not good, either. The authors analysed 68 intraarticular calcaneal fractures (Sanders type II & III only) out of 147 cases, which were treated operatively or conservatively from June 1990 to May 1997, and found out that the results of conservative and operative treatment were approximately the same. The length of follow-up ranged from one year to four and half years (mean, 2.7years). The results were as follows: Of the 24 conservatively treated group, seven had excellent; eleven good; four fair; and two poor result. Of the 44 operatively treated group, eleven had excellent; twenty seven good; five fair; and one poor result. The sum of excellent and good results in conservative and operative treatment group were 75.0% and 86.4% each other, and these were not meaningful statistically (p=0.400). Therefore, the authors recommend a conservative treatment as an effective alternative method for the intraarticular calcaneal fracture.