Study finds no implant edge in equine sesamoid fracture model
CURRENT BRIEF VERSION: A new ex vivo study in Veterinary Surgery suggests a novel bone-screw-fastener performs about as well as a conventional cortical buttress screw for repair of simulated medial mid-body proximal sesamoid bone fractures in horses. Investigators from Colorado State University and Equine Medical Center tested 14 paired equine cadaver forelimbs using single- and double-screw constructs. Double-screw repairs had significantly higher yield strength than single-screw repairs, but there were no significant biomechanical differences between the bone-screw-fastener and conventional cortical screw within either configuration. The paper was published online ahead of print on November 25, 2025. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Why it matters: For equine surgeons, the key takeaway isn’t that a new implant clearly outperformed the standard approach. It’s that construct choice may matter more than implant branding in this model. The findings reinforce prior clinical and surgical literature that stable reduction and screw-based fixation are central in mid-body proximal sesamoid fracture repair, while also fitting a broader biomechanics pattern in veterinary orthopedics: newer screw designs do not always generate measurably better performance than standard cortical approaches under static ex vivo testing. A recent feline sacroiliac luxation model, for example, found no significant differences in interfragmentary compression among cannulated compression headless screws, cortical positional screws, and lag screws. Because this was a cadaveric single-cycle-to-failure study, it doesn’t answer whether either implant improves healing, complications, or return to athletic function in live horses. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
What to watch: The next step is whether these biomechanical findings translate into clinical outcome data, especially under cyclic loading and in horses returning to work. It will also be worth watching whether follow-up studies continue to show that newer compression-oriented implants match, rather than exceed, conventional screw performance across species and fracture models. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)