An unusual location of foreign body in the horse

A seven year old Arabian gelding was presented because of a draining tract cranial to the scapula that developed following puncture with a wooden rail four months previously and drained continuously despite antibiotic treatment.The full extent of the tract could not be determined with the horse standing but a polyethylene catheter was passed 25 cm down the tract and passed medial to the scapula. With the horse under a general anaesthetic, further probing revealed the tract was much longer. The direction, length and contents of the tract were determined by fistulograph. The tract continued medial to the scapula and terminated with two radiolucent filling defects adjacent the spinous processes of the 5th-11th thoracic vertebrae. The filling defects were located more accurately in a cranial-caudal direction by the use of radiopaque markers, and in a medial-lateral direction by deep needle probing during surgery. Following surgical removal of the foreign bodies the tract healed and the horse returned to his original use. Foreign bodies and the use of fistulography are discussed.