A recent 10-horse study by Bruce Lyle, DVM, a primary care equine practitioner in Aubrey, Texas, looked at using digital venography (injecting radio-opaque dye into a blood vessel to measure blood flow in the foot) to enhance a practitioner’s ability to reasonably predict the course of laminitis early on, stimulate thought for new treatments, and to evaluate a horse’s response to treatment.

Lyle made two important points regarding the diagnostic use of venograms in his presentation: First, that diagnostic procedures such as venography should be used to confirm or rule out a diagnosis based on physical examination and history (such procedures should not be considered diagnostic by themselves). Second, a diagnostic procedure such as a venogram should only be performed if its outcome could change the treatment plan for the case. “The venogram has tremendous potential to do this, placing us in a position to be proactive rather than reactive in non-compensated cases,” Lyle said.

One of the keys in digital venography, he said, is using a consistent procedure. “You’ve got to standardize your procedure so you can standardize your images and interpretation,” he stated