Single injection of autologous platelet rich plasma (PRP) in suspensory ligament lesions in horses: a clinical trial

The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of treatment of single injection of autologous platelet rich plasma (PRP) in suspensory ligament lesions in horses. The results obtained in this clinical trial are encouraging. Seven of the 10 treated horses have had a positive outcome with a 12 months follow up. The 3 horses with a negative outcome were all trotters, affected in hind limbs. This result might have a correlation both with the discipline itself and with the management and training of such horses, which are often put back into competition with an urgency potentially undermining a complete recovery. In this study were considered only horses treated with a single application of PRP, which was demonstrated to be effective on rats (Virchenko & Aspengerg, 2006) and that has here shown a satisfactory outcome. In this report we included only the horses in which it was considered, based on an ultrasonographic evidence, that multiple injections might even cause a damage to the fibrils in shaping. Until more consistent data become available, it is possible to state that the treatment of suspensory ligament lesion with PRP seems to be effective, uneventful, cheap and easy, and able to accelerate and improve the quality of the heal, thus it should strongly be considered for these injuries in sport horses.