Hampshire vets travel to South Africa to perform pioneering surgery

Matthew Sinovich and Rachel Tucker from Liphook Equine Hospital made a 12-hour journey from Hampshire to Pretoria to perform complex neck surgery on a showjumper, which was the first procedure of its kind to be performed in South Africa.

Callaho Con Cero, an 11-year-old gelding, had been intermittently lame and following several months of investigations by vets in South Africa, a CT scan at the University of Pretoria’s veterinary hospital diagnosed a bone fragment in his neck.

As local vets did not have experience in the keyhole surgery required to remove the fragment, the horse’s owner contacted Matthew after hearing he had successfully performed similar procedures in the UK. Matthew and his colleague Rachel Tucker, who are both RCVS and European specialists in equine surgery, agreed to make the trip from Liphook Equine Hospital to South Africa to treat Cero.

Liphook Equine Hospital is one of the largest specialist veterinary practices in the UK and provides 24-hour care to top competition horses and leisure horses through its ambulatory practice and fully equipped referral hospital. The multidisciplinary team of veterinary specialists have a particular interest in conditions of the neck and have published peer reviewed research on the identification and removal of bone fragments.

Matthew, who is South African and a former student of the University of Pretoria, said the bone fragment was located within a facet joint at the base of Cero’s neck, sitting close to the spinal cord and spinal nerve.

He said: “The small piece of bone and cartilage could have been in place for months or even years and might have initially been very small and not caused a problem. However, we believe these ‘loose bodies’ might have the capacity to slowly grow in size within the synovial environment of the joint, eventually causing the joint to become inflamed and in this case, putting pressure on the spinal nerve that runs alongside.

“When Cero held his neck at a certain angle, it would have pinched the nerve, sending a shooting pain or tingling sensation down his leg. This was causing intermittent lameness and an irregular ‘skipping’ gait which was affecting him both when he was ridden and grazing in the field.

“The procedure to remove the chip was challenging because of the small size of the joint and close proximity to the spinal cord. The surgery took just under three hours and Rachel and I worked together to carefully place an arthroscope – a keyhole surgery camera – into the joint to find the fragment and remove it.

“We were under observation by several vets and students from the university who were keen to learn more about this type of surgery, which hadn’t been performed before in South Africa. It was a great feeling to be able to help Cero and his owners, and to be able to give something back to the university where I started my journey to becoming a vet.”

Cero is now back home with his owners Leigh and Stephen Watson and their son Luca and is undergoing a rehab programme.

Luca, 14, competes in Junior Open classes in South Africa, is one of the youngest riders competing in 1.35m classes and is ranked in the top three in South Africa at this level.

Leigh hopes Cero will progress to ridden work in the coming weeks and be able to make a gradual return to jumping.

She said: “We wanted desperately to give Cero a chance of a full recovery because he is a much-loved and talented showjumper with a heart of gold but also because our animals are like family. We will always do whatever it takes to ensure they are happy, healthy and comfortable, even if that means flying surgeons in from halfway across the world.

“When Matthew confirmed that he and Rachel were prepared to do the surgery we literally wept and felt an enormous sense of relief and gratitude. Had they not agreed to do this, we would have had to retire Cero, although we were concerned he would never be comfortable, even just standing in a field. They have given him the chance of a pain-free life and if he returns to showjumping it will be the icing on the cake.

“Watching Cero come around and stand up after the surgery was one of the best sights, and I’m so grateful to Matthew and Rachel, my own vets Dr Patrick Martin of Baker McVeigh and the entire team at the university.”