Autologous implant of bone marrow mononuclear stem-cells as treatment for equine bicipital tendonitis: case report

Abstract

Bicipital bursitis in the horse, the inflammation of the bicipital tendon and its surrounding bursa, has been reported to represent a low percentage of lameness cause. However, it is the main cause of lameness associated to the shoulder region and it has been under diagnosed. Due to high recurrence in different types of tendon injuries, treatments aiming to re-establish tendon functionality have been a focus of research. The aim of this study is to report the implant of a bone marrow mononuclear cell fraction as treatment for bicipital bursitis in a horse. A 7 year old crossbred draught gelding was presented with severe lameness of the left forelimb and pain in the shoulder region. Clinical and ultrasonographic evaluation revealed hemorrhagic synovial fluid, decrease of lameness after shoulder joint anesthesia and bicipital tendon fibers rupture and inflammation. The patient was successfully treated by triamcinolone injection adjacent to the tendon lesion followed by intralesional injection of bone marrow mononuclear cells seven days after the first treatment. Also, rest and controlled exercise were performed. Further clinical and ultrasound evaluations were executed at days 2, 15, 35, 75 and 120. After day 120 the horse started working and despite bicipital bursitis has been reported to exhibit high recurrence, neither clinical nor ultrasonographic signs of recurrence were reported for 15 months after lameness onset. These results suggest that use of regenerative medicine associated to rest and a controlled exercise protocol, accelerated tendon repair, reduced recovery period and allowed successful return to working activities without recurrence.