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May 21, 2006
Barbaro Update: Sunday, May 21 Surgery to repair a severe injury to Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro's right hind leg is now complete, and veterinarians at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center are guardedly optimistic for his chances of recovery. "He's still a coin toss, even after everything went well," said Dr. Dean Richardson, chief surgeon at New Bolton, of Barbaro's chances. "This is absolutely the first step but not the last step." Barbaro, who suffered severe injuries to his right hind leg in the May 20 Preakness Stakes, is wearing a cast that encloses his hoof and most of his leg. A 16-hole plate, known as a locking compression plate, and 23 screws were inserted to stabilize his injuries. Barbaro suffered a break to his cannon bone above the ankle, a broken sesamoid bone behind the ankle, and a shattered pastern, as well as a dislocation in the ankle joint, or fetlock. "It is very unusual to have three catastrophic injuries all together," Richardson said while addressing the media Sunday night. "I've never seen this exact fracture and I never tackled one before. You do not see this severe an injury frequently because the fact is most horses that suffer this typically are put down on the racetrack. "This is rare. It's about as bad as it could be. The main thing going for the horse is that his skin was not broken at the time of injury. This is a testament to the care given by the team of doctors at the track and the jockey [Edgar Prado] on the racetrack." Barbaro was under anesthesia for six hours on Sunday while a team of veterinarians tended to his injuries. The surgery itself lasted more than four. Afterwards, he was brought out of the anesthesia while floating in the warm waters of a special pool at the hospital, his weight and balance maintained by an equine raft. This type of recovery process ensures that even horses who thrash and fight as they wake from the anesthesia cannot hurt themselves, because they are struggling against only water resistance. "Eventually, they wake up and want to get out," Richardson said, explaining the process. "We put a blindfold on them, lift them up in a sling, take them to another stall, and set them down on their feet. "The idea is that they're supposed to stand up immediately. Barbaro had a few other ideas. He decided to jump up and down a few times. About 10 percent of the horses do what he did, but he didn't hurt anything. That's the only thing that really matters. He walked on the leg immediately. That's what you're looking for." "To see him walk like that, going in (the stall) and eating hay, they did a terrific job," said trainer Michael Matz, who lives only a short drive from the clinic. "I feel much more relieved when I watched him walk in the (recovery) stall than when I loaded him onto the ambulance to come up here, that's for darn sure. "At least he has a chance now to hopefully have a career as a stallion." Although Barbaro had good blood supply to the injured area, a critical compontent in his chances for recovery, infection and laminitis still loom as major hurdles to overcome. "At this very moment, he is extremely comfortable on the leg," Richardson said. "He practically jogged back to his stall. He pulled us back to his stall. Right now he's very happy. He's eating... But I've been doing this too long to know day one is not the end of anything." |
 
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