History of Equine AOVET

Abstract

This manuscript leans heavily on the AO publication, History of AOVET – The First 40 Years by Auer J. A., Pohler O. E. M., Schlünder M., Kása F., Kása G., Olmstead M., von Salis B., Fackelman G. E. and is approved by the AO Foundation. Also, to be able to comprehend the spirit of the AO Foundation and AOVET, it is important to also elucidate the way the AO was founded. Up to the 1960s, veterinary practice consisted mainly of the treatment of food-producing animals (cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats) and some horses, which were used in agriculture and the World Wars. Small animals were not important at that time and were treated, when necessary, by the same veterinarians as the large animals. With time dogs and cats became more and more “family members” and the popularization of motorization resulted in an increased number of car accidents of small animals, and the demand by the animal owners to treat these patients properly. The horses were used more and more in sports and here as well, “state-of-the-art” treatments was demanded. However, the veterinarians lacked the knowledge of such treatments, implants, and instrumentation to properly carry out these demands. The same problems were noticed about a decade before by human surgeons. In addition, the increased popularity of alpine skiing and the related skiing accidents also demanded proper management of the acquired long bone fractures in humans. Four human surgeons, some of their associates and friends in Switzerland were not happy with the way human fractures were treated and decided to do something about it. They got together with some manufacturers of the watch making industry to find solutions for proper implants and the instruments needed for their implantation. In addition, recent developments in aseptic surgery and postoperative management had to be adopted. Together they came up with a system and started treating human patients, after having practiced the surgical interventions many times on cadaveric bones. The success was immediate, and they organized courses to teach other surgeons their techniques. The only way the implants and instruments could be purchased, was to first participate in an instructional course on the implants and instruments, combined with practical exercises on cadaveric bones. The AO (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen) was founded in 1958 and expanded rapidly over the entire globe. Björn von Salis, a private practitioner from Switzerland, wanted to improve the management of horses with fractured bones. He heard about a dog and horse owner in Waldenburg, who was manufacturing plates and screws for human patients with fractured legs, met with him and together they began to adapt the techniques, implants, and instruments developed for humans, to fractured horse bones. After treating several fractured cadaveric horse bones with good results, it was time to apply the gained knowledge to a living horse. For that purpose, a horse destined for slaughter was purchased, the animal anesthetized in its stall and two newly developed titanium plates applied by skilled human AO surgeons to an osteotomy of the third metacarpal bone. The animal survived the surgery and after the osteotomy had healed, the plates were removed. The horse also survived the second surgery and was kept as a pet. The plates were tested for potential microtrauma and cyclic loading. They were absolutely intact, and this paved the way, firstly for osteosynthesis of fractured horse bones and secondly, for the application of titanium plates to human fractures. In the facilities of the Straumann Institute in Waldenburg, von Salis and some small animal surgeons around Basel, continued to study the possibilities fracture management and it did not take long until veterinarians, including equine surgeons, participated in human AO Courses. Eventually, equine courses in basic techniques and later master courses for horse specialists were organized. This started rapid development of surgical techniques for all major equine fractures, which eventually were applied in all university hospitals and major equine clinics in Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Hong Kong. AOVET has served as “incubator” for the development and expansion of equine fracture treatment across the World – with the help of the AO Foundation.