Liebelei, a horse with chronic phlebitis in the tarsal vein of the right hock

SPECIES: horse
BREED: Hannover
GENDER: mare
AGE: 16 YO
NAME: Liebelei

Clinical case: When visited, Liebelei had chronic phlebitis in the tarsal vein of the right hock, including notable oedema and pain. For this reason, she tended to not put weight on the affected leg.
Her chronic phlebitis was documented through an ultrasound exam performed on 09/29/2015. A partial obstruction and abnormal course of the tarsal vein was also found.

Therapy: Initially Liebelei was given antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and topical medications with no improvement.
At that point MLS® Laser Therapy was introduced:

  • 3 treatments per week for the first 2 weeks
  • 2 treatments per week for the following 2 weeks.

During the first and second treatments, the “edema” setting was used to scan from the fetlock to the hock.
From the third treatment onwards, the “edema” setting was used to scan from the fetlock to the hock with the wand attachment and then with the “inflammation (chronic)” setting on points on the entire hock with the multidiode applicator Charlie.

Results: At the end of the treatment programme, the oedema had almost entirely disappeared and a check with the ultrasound revealed the restoration of the structure and the function of the tarsal vein.

Courtesy of Maria Elena Caleca DVM, freelance professional - Turin, Italy