RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Contaminated or septic navicular bursitis has been reported to have a guarded prognosis after surgical treatment with navicular bursotomy only. In our experience, the use of navicular bursotomy for the treatment of this disease in combination with systemic and local delivery of antimicrobials can provide a good prognosis, even in horses with chronic disease. OBJECTIVE: To report the outcome of horses undergoing navicular bursotomy for the treatment of contaminated or septic navicular bursitis. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive case series. METHODS: Navicular bursotomy was performed in combination with systemic and local antimicrobial therapies. Medical records (2002-2016) were reviewed. Follow-up information was obtained from owners or referring veterinarians. Horse outcome was divided into two groups. A successful outcome (Group 1) was assigned to horses that were able to return to the same level of use or performance as before contamination/infection. A satisfactory outcome (Group 2) was assigned to horses that survived but did not return to their previous function or level of performance. RESULTS: All horses survived to hospital discharge. Follow-up was obtained from 4 months to 12.75 years after surgery. Sixteen horses were able to return to their previous level of use (84.2%) and three horses were able to return to a lower level of performance or were pasture sound (15.8%). All 19 owners were satisfied with the outcome. MAIN LIMITATIONS: Small sample size and retrospective nature of the study. Follow-up was limited to telephone contact with owners and referring veterinarians, and there is potential for recall bias. CONCLUSIONS: Navicular bursotomy in combination with systemic and local antimicrobial therapies is an effective treatment for contaminated or septic navicular bursitis. The success rate in this population makes navicular bursotomy worthy of consideration in cases of contaminated or septic navicular bursitis, especially with chronicity and/or where equipment or expertise for bursoscopy is unavailable.