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Lymphangitis
Hi Doc T. My horse is presently recovering from what seems to be lymphangitis following a severely swollen hind leg. Fluid had begun to weep through his groin area. He couldn’t put weight on it, heart rate and temperature were up and he was off his food. We were expecting he’d have to be euthanized. Vet came early and gave antibiotics anti inflammatory & steroid injections. Thankfully the next day horse seemed to pick up and he’s now on day 3 of oral meds with swelling improved significantly. He’s 24 with cushings & EOTRH. From what I’ve read lymphangitis is likely to recur and could spread to internal organs. Is there any way of knowing if long-term damage has occurred or any other signs to look out for? I’ve read that it can affect coordination. Many thanks 🙏 Kerry
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7 Replies
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So sorry to read you are dealing with this. Hope Doc T has some thoughts.
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Oh gosh, I hate lymphangitis @Kerry . I’m not sure I can add anything here that your vet hasn’t covered.
There is no doubt in my mind that horses off inflammatory foods and are supplemented with protein will do better with this disease but it will not prevent reoccurrences. I have a client who has done everything he can for his horse with a hind limb lymphangitis and I expect him to tell me that she has been euthanized. But she has done relatively well for several years. But when it flares up, he thinks the worst and does his best and she comes out of it.
This is worthy of making a post within the topics section. I’m on the road for a bit and so I’ll get to it back at home around Thanksgiving. Please feel free to remind me then.
Basically this is an infection within the lymphatics with an over reaction by the immune system. It is complex and little is known. Antibiotics have difficulty getting to the offending organism through the edema. The best thing to do is reduce or eliminate the excess fluid through compression bandaging, hydrotherapy (cold water hosing, whirlpool) and movement.
In the meantime keep track of the ACTH values (the Cushing’s disease you mentioned) as this would indicate he is producing excess cortisol. Adding steroids for the lymphangitis can be difficult in a horse with elevated cortisol. Your vet should be able to help you with this.
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Many thanks @Doc-t . I will send a reminder then
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Hi @Doc-T Do you have any further information on lymphangitis? Many thanks
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Thanks for the reminder…. And now there is a reminder in my reminder system for this weekend.
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https://www.thehorsesadvocate.com/horse-lymphangitis/
@Kerry I know this doesn’t add anything to what you can read online. I decided to make it a little different based on experience rather than repeating what the others say. Let me know if this helps and if you know a ka-zillionaire willing to research this.
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Many thanks @Doc-t This is very helpful.
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