M Kummer

Publications (13)9.03 Total impact

• Article: Diagnosis and surgical cellophane banding of an intrahepatic congenital portosystemic shunt in a foal.

  S A Hug, T G Guerrero, M Makara, M Kummer, P Grest, R Bettschart, C C Schwarzwald
  Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 11/2011; 26(1):171-7. · 1.99 Impact Factor
• Article: Severe bilateral physitis with instability and Salter‐Harris type 1 fractures in two foals

  M. A. Jackson, M. Kummer, J. A. Auer, P. Ossent, M. Paar, A. E. Fürst
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  ABSTRACT: This Case Report describes the clinical, radiographic, computed tomographic and post mortem findings in 2 foals with severe bilateral physitis of the distal third metatarsal bones (MtIII). The foals were admitted because of bilateral hindlimb lameness of several weeks' duration. Initial examination revealed that the physeal regions of the distal MtIII were enlarged, warmer than normal and painful on palpation. Case 1 was treated conservatively and discharged but was readmitted 8 weeks later because of clinical deterioration. In both foals, radiographs showed plantar dislocation of both epiphyses through the physis and a Salter-Harris type 1 fracture. The foals were subjected to euthanasia and a post mortem examination.
  Equine Veterinary Education. 05/2011; 23(11):543 - 547.
• Article: Internal fixation of a fractured axis in an adult horse.

  D Gygax, A Fürst, S Picek, M Kummer
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  ABSTRACT: To report internal fixation of a fractured axis with a dynamic compression plate (DCP). Case report. A 7-year-old Warmblood gelding. Surgery was performed under anesthesia in sternal recumbency. After fracture reduction the complete transverse fracture in the cranial third of the axis was stabilized with a 7-hole 4.5 mm DCP. Optimal positioning of the plate and the length of the screws were facilitated by fluoroscopy. Recovery from anesthesia was supervised in a pool. The horse had an excellent outcome and returned to its previous activity level. Surgical treatment with fracture reduction and plate fixation enables normal bearing of the head and neck and improves neck flexibility soon after surgery.
  Veterinary Surgery 05/2011; 40(5):636-40. · 1.26 Impact Factor
• Article: Treatment of type 2 and 4 olecranon fractures with locking compression plate osteosynthesis in horses: a prospective study (2002-2008).

  M Jackson, M Kummer, J Auer, R Hagen, A Fuerst
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  ABSTRACT: This prospective study describes a series of 18 olecranon fractures in 16 horses that were treated with locking compression plates (LCP). Twelve of the 18 fractures were simple (type 2), whereas six were comminuted (type 4). Six fractures were open and 12 were closed. Each horse underwent LCP osteosynthesis consisting of open reduction and application of one or two LCP. Complete fracture healing was achieved in 13 horses. Three horses had to be euthanatized: two because of severe infection and one because of a comminuted radial fracture 11 days after fixation of the olecranon fracture. Complications encountered after discharge of the horses from the Equine Hospital at the Vetsuisse Faculty (University of Zurich) included implant infection (n=2) and lameness (n=3), which were successfully treated with implant removal. Despite being easier to use, LCP osteosynthesis resulted in a clinical outcome similar to DCP osteosynthesis.
  Veterinary and Comparative Orthopaedics and Traumatology 01/2011; 24(1):57-61. · 0.81 Impact Factor
• Article: Comparison of the clinical efficacy of cefquinome with the combination of penicillin G and gentamicin in equine patients

  A. Widmer, M. Kummer, M. Wehrli Eser, A. Fürst
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  ABSTRACT: This prospective, randomised, nonblinded study compared the clinical efficacy of cefquinome to that of a combination of penicillin and gentamicin. Patients (374 horses and 13 donkeys) at the equine hospital of the Vetsuisse-Faculty of Zurich, presented from February-October 2007, were divided into prophylactic and therapeutic treatment groups. Equids from these groups were randomly treated either with cefquinome or with the combination of sodium penicillin and gentamicin.There was no significant difference between the 2 treatment groups for prophylactic indications. In the therapeutic group, cefquinome showed better efficacy, as demonstrated by fewer complications of wound healing and fewer treatment failures with subsequent change to another antibiotic. Side effects were very rare in both treatment groups. Cefquinome can be used with safety and efficacy in equids. Cefquinome had greater efficacy than the combination of penicillin and gentamicin in the therapeutic group. However, there was no difference between the 2 antibiotic treatments in the prophylactic group. In order to minimise the development of resistance, cefquinome should therefore not be used for routine prophylactic treatment.
  Equine Veterinary Education. 01/2010; 21(8):430 - 435.
• Article: Pruritus in two horses following epidurally administered morphine

  K. S. Kalchofner, M. Kummer, J. Price, R. Bettschart‐Wolfensberger
  Equine Veterinary Education. 01/2010; 19(11):590 - 594.
• Article: Bilateral iatrogenic [corrected] maxillary fractures after dental treatment in two aged horses.

  A Widmer, A Fürst, R Bettschart, M Makara, H Geyer, M Kummer
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  ABSTRACT: This clinical report describes two horses with bilateral maxillary fractures following dental treatment. The fractures occurred during dental treatment by a veterinarian, and both had rostral, transverse, and complete bilateral maxillary fractures with instability and minimal displacement. The fractures were repaired using bilateral intraoral wiring with the patients under general anesthesia. The postoperative period was without complications and the fractures healed as expected. Maxillary fractures during or after routine dental treatment are rare, but can occur, especially in older horses. Appropriate sedation and, if necessary, regional nerve blocks might reduce the risk of iatrogenic fractures of the maxilla. General anesthesia must be considered for tooth extraction in horses that are difficult to restrain.
  Journal of veterinary dentistry 01/2010; 27(3):160-2. · 0.31 Impact Factor
• Article: Results and complications of a novel technique for primary castration with an inguinal approach in horses.

  M Kummer, D Gygax, M Jackson, R Bettschart-Wolfensberger, A Fürst
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  ABSTRACT: Complications associated with equine castration can have medical and financial consequences. This retrospective study investigated a novel method of castration via an inguinal approach in mature stallions and compared the incidence of complications with other methods. Castration via an inguinal approach has a low complication rate at the site of surgery compared with other castration techniques. Mature stallions (n = 238) were castrated under general anaesthesia in dorsal recumbency using an inguinal approach. The vaginal process was incised, the spermatic cord ligated twice and the testis removed. After suturing, the vaginal process and one or 2 layers of fascia, the subcutis and cutis were closed in a simple continuous pattern. Five of 238 (2.1%) horses had post operative haemorrhage and a haematoma in the scrotal region, which required additional treatment. All horses made a full recovery. Five of 238 (2.1%) of the horses had a post operative respiratory infection, which resolved with antibiotic therapy. Sixteen of 238 (8.8%) had transient signs of colic shortly after surgery. This technique of castration with an inguinal approach had a low incidence of complications at the site of surgery compared with other methods. An inguinal approach and leaving the vaginal tunic in situ may cause less soft tissue trauma than a scrotal approach.
  Equine Veterinary Journal 07/2009; 41(6):547-51. · 1.46 Impact Factor
• Article: [Surgical treatment of canker involving all hoofs in a warmblood gelding].

  S Rigert, H Geyer, M Kummer
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  ABSTRACT: The following case report describes the treatment of canker in a 14 years old warmblood gelding. The horse showed the typical appearance with caseous surface and early detachment of the superficial horn layers. The histological results show a severe degradation in the germinal layer of the epidermis of the frog. Surgical therapy under general anaesthesia was performed. On all limbs a tourniquet was applied and all abnormal tissue in the region of the frog and also the subdermal tissue underneath were removed. Postoperatively the horse was treated with hoof bandages for 2 weeks. Treatment plates were than applied on all hoofs. During the following weeks the wounds were topically treated with Giessner Mischung 2 an astringent, desinfectant powder. The powder contains jodophorm, zincoxyde, tanninic acid, metronidazole. After 5 months the frog showed a complete cover with strong horn material and without any signs of recrudescence.
  SAT Schweizer Archiv für Tierheilkunde 05/2009; 151(4):171-6. · 0.60 Impact Factor
• Article: Locking compression plate osteosynthesis of complicated mandibular fractures in six horses.

  J M Kuemmerle, M Kummer, J A Auer, D Nitzl, A E Fürst
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  ABSTRACT: Complicated mandibular fractures were recognised in one foal, one pony and four horses. The foal was two months old while the adult animals ranged in age from 12 to 24 years. Three horses had a unilateral horizontal ramus fracture. Two fractures were open and one was closed. Comminution was present in one of these patients while the other two horses had marked displacement of the fragments. Two suffered from comminuted fractures of the horizontal and vertical ramus of the mandible. One of these patients had open and infected fractures. One foal had a bilateral horizontal ramus fracture with marked periosteal 'new bone' formation and malalignement which required corrective osteotomy. Each horse underwent locking compression plate (LCP) osteosynthesis consisting of open fracture reduction and application of one to three 4.5/5.0 mm LCP at the ventral, lateral or caudal aspect of the mandible under fluoroscopic control. Two 3.5 mm LCP were used in the foal. Plate fixation was supported by application of a cerclage wire construct between the incisor and premolar teeth in most patients. Complete fracture healing, with an excellent functional and cosmetic outcome, was achieved in all of the patients. Complications encountered included seroma formation, screw and wire breakage, as well as implant and apical tooth root infections. The LCP was removed after fracture healing had occurred in four patients.
  Veterinary and Comparative Orthopaedics and Traumatology 02/2009; 22(1):54-8. · 0.81 Impact Factor
• Article: [Do hoof cracks represent a superficial hoof-problem?].

  A Fürst, M Kummer, C Lischer, R Bertolla, J Auer, H Geyer
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  ABSTRACT: Fifty-four horses with hoof cracks were referred to the Equine Hospital of the University of Zurich, for treatment. The horses were admitted because of lameness or other symptoms caused by the cracks. Deep or complicated quarter cracks were the most common type of cracks diagnosed. Poor conformation and abnormal hoof shape were the most important causes of hoof crack development, whereas injury to the coronary band was a less frequently encountered cause. Effective treatment of this problem includes corrective shoeing, removing horn from the weight-bearing surface as well as from the crack with a Dremel tool and immobilization of the borders of the crack. However, even with such a therapy, the recurrence rate of hoof cracks was with 20% very high.
  SAT Schweizer Archiv für Tierheilkunde 03/2006; 148(2):55-63. · 0.60 Impact Factor
• Article: [The art of horseshoeing--between empiricism and science].

  M A Weishaupt, B Musterle, R Bertolla, S Wehrli, H Geyer, B Wampfler, P Jordan, M Kummer, J A Auer, A Fürst
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  ABSTRACT: To correctly shoe a horse requires the farriers to have a good working knowledge of postural anomalies and movement patterns, as well as of the different concepts of horseshoeing and to be able to apply the appropriate technique to every individual horse they shoe. The correct technique for specific problem cases is frequently a subject of debate amongst specialists and many theories would benefit from objective gait analyses. The case study presented examines the influence of different shoeing conditions on selected gait analysis parameters. The measurements were conducted on a Warmblood mare: (A) shod with long toes, (B) properly trimmed without shoes, (C) conventionally shod with rolled toes and finally (D) shod using the 4-point technique. Data on force-, time- and distance parameters were recorded using an instrumented treadmill. First contact and breakover of the hooves were documented using high-speed videography. A long toe resulted in a prolongation of the breakover time and, therefore, in a prolongation of the second half of the stance phase. Additionally, the prolonged stance duration associated with an unaltered force impulse, led to decreased force peaks. It was possible to objectively record differences between the trimmed, unshod foot, the shod long-toe and the shod rolled toe configurations. The differences between the rolled toe and the 4 point shoe however, were minimal. Gait analysis is a technique well suited for objective evaluation of different shoeing techniques under standardised conditions.
  SAT Schweizer Archiv für Tierheilkunde 03/2006; 148(2):64-72. · 0.60 Impact Factor
• Article: Evaluation of a standardised radiographic technique of the equine hoof.

  M Kummer, C Lischer, S Ohlerth, J Vargas, J Auer
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  ABSTRACT: Radiography of the equine hoof is often used to obtain a diagnosis. Quantitative interpretation, especially for research purposes requires high quality and accuracy of radiographs. The purpose of this study was to describe and evaluate a radiographic technique for the lateromedial (LM) and the dorsopalmar (DP) view of the equine hoof. Ten radiographs for each view from one cadaver limb and from both front feet in a standing horse were taken in order to assess repeatability of the radiographic technique. The method requires easy to use adjustable and portable equipment and strictly defined external radio opaque markers on the hoof capsule. The digitalised radiographs were processed and analysed with the software package Metron PX, measuring 13 parameters in the LM view and 10 parameters in the DP view, respectively. Results show that with few exceptions measurements of these parameters revealed a coefficient of variation that was smaller than 0.05. It was concluded that this easy to use standardised radiographic technique ensures excellent accuracy and repeatability for both the LM and DP view. Hence, this method provides an adequate tool for quantitative assessment of the equine hoof, inter- and intraindividually.
  SAT Schweizer Archiv für Tierheilkunde 12/2004; 146(11):507-14. · 0.60 Impact Factor