Kentucky Derby (G1) winner BARBARO (Dynaformer) continues to make progress at
the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center in Kennett Square,
Pennsylvania.
Dr. Dean Richardson, the New Bolton Center’s chief surgeon, said Barbaro was
doing well on Tuesday, two days after the colt underwent a lengthy operation to
repair the multiple fractures in his right hind leg that he sustained in the
Preakness S. (G1).
“Barbaro is doing very well,” Richardson reported in a Tuesday morning press
conference. “He’s actually better today than he was yesterday, and he was pretty
good yesterday.
“He’s pretty agile. I was telling (owners) Roy and Gretchen (Jackson) that
he’s done a couple of things that manifest his level of comfort, one of which is
that he was actually scratching his left ear with his left hind leg, which is
his good leg. When I was working with him this morning he kind of waved at me
with his left leg. So he’s feeling pretty good.
“He’s walking very well on the (injured) limb. He has absolutely normal vital
signs today; his temperature, pulse, respiration, attitude and appetite. We have
no shortage of volunteers to go out and hand-pick him grass, so he’s grazing at
a distance. He’s doing very well.”
Richardson said that nearly 30 screws were used to fuse the fetlock joint.
“I was pretty tired after surgery the other night and I said there were 23
screws,” he said. “I think my resident told me there were 27. I kind of lost
track.”
Barbaro was fitted with a special shoe that will help prevent laminitis in
his left hind foot. Laminitis is a complication that could occur in his opposite
uninjured leg due to the stress of bearing an inordinate amount of weight.
“As long as he’s comfortable, that’s less likely to occur,” Richardson
explained. “His left hind foot was shod with a special glue-on shoe that has
special padding. It also raises his foot up a little bit so that his limb length
is equivalent to the cast limb on the right hind.”
Richardson is optimistic that Barbaro will recover from the injuries but
cautioned that many things can still go wrong.
“I tried to emphasized before that bad things can happen anytime with these
kinds of injuries,” he said. “Good things take a long time to happen. It will be
a few months before we know if we have this thing even close to being healed.
The single most important thing is that we are able to maintain his level of
comfort on the fractured limb.”
For the time being, Barbaro will remain in the intensive care unit and will be
closely monitored for signs of infection.
“We basically are just doing good, solid nursing care for the next few
months,” Richardson said. “There are many, many things that could still go
wrong.”
Richardson said the cast probably will be changed early next week, at which
time a new set of radiographs will be taken.
“He absolutely will remain in a cast for quite a while,” he said. “The
internal fixation — the plates and screws — in this particular case are not
adequate to allow him to bear weight without the cast. There are many types of
surgical repairs that we do that the plates and screws are enough to hold things
together. In this case, this is far too complicated a fracture for that. So we
need to keep him in the cast as well.”
Barbaro is not currently on a lot of pain medication, according to
Richardson.
“He’s on fairly low levels of analgesics right now,” he said. “He was
originally getting epidurals right after anesthesia, but that has been discontinued.”
Richardson said Barbaro will probably remain at the New Bolton Center for the
next few months.
“He will not be out of the woods until he’s healed,” he said. “How long does
it take to heal? Months.”
Roy Jackson thanked many people during the news conference, including jockey
Edgar Prado, trainer Michael Matz, assistant trainer Peter Brette and others
for their efforts to aid the stricken horse.
“We’ve run through the gamut of emotions from the Kentucky Derby euphoria to
the devastation of the Preakness,” Jackson said.
In related news:
The New Bolton Center has established a link on its web site at
www.vet.upenn.edu/barbaro for
fans to send e-mails in care of Barbaro.
In addition, an anonymous donor made a “very generous” gift to launch the
Barbaro Fund for the George D. Widener Hospital at New Bolton Center. Donations
will support ongoing patient care and expansion of the large animal hospital and
are not specifically earmarked for Barbaro’s care. More information can be found
at
www.vet.upenn/giving/giving_ways.html.