# Kissing spine



## CarysTrooper (22 December 2017)

My horse has just been diagnosed with kissing spine
He has had the injections done so I am giving him a couple of weeks off then start with some ground work. I am obviously hoping that these injections will work but if they dont I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of how much the surgery cost are currently?
Thanks


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## shellibob (23 December 2017)

It depends what surgery you have as there is the ligament snip or the one where they remove some bone ?


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## CarysTrooper (26 December 2017)

Not sure if my reply posted I can&#8217;t see it? 
Most likely the one to remove excess bone. 
If you know either or both? 
Thanks for your reply


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## ycbm (26 December 2017)

Carys there is a search function top right, put kissing spine in that box and it will give you lots of recent stuff period have been posting.


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## Mohawk (1 January 2018)

Ballpark costs for interspinous ligament desmotomy is £1500 - £2000 plus VAT depending on the number of sites affected and practice performing the procedure. If the condition is severe enough to warrant 'shaving' off some of the bone then that may be a bit more expensive. The practice of cutting away whole spinous processes has fallen out of fashion in favour of less invasive, keyhole style operations that cause considerably less trauma to the horse and massively decrease the length of post operative rehab.


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## ycbm (1 January 2018)

Mohawk said:



			Ballpark costs for interspinous ligament desmotomy is £1500 - £2000 plus VAT depending on the number of sites affected and practice performing the procedure. If the condition is severe enough to warrant 'shaving' off some of the bone then that may be a bit more expensive. The practice of cutting away whole spinous processes has fallen out of fashion in favour of less invasive, keyhole style operations that cause considerably less trauma to the horse and massively decrease the length of post operative rehab.
		
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When I last saw my vet she told me that the long term outcome of the ligament desmotomy is problems caused by instability of the spine, and that my practice will not now recommend any operation except some form of bone removal.

The operation has only just been around long enough for these results to become apparent.


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## Darkly_Dreaming_Dex (3 February 2018)

Yes to the doubts about ligament surgery, My gelding was operated on in 2013, went lame last year but couldnt find the cause so turned him away. Hes been xrayed this week & its far worse due to the instability of the spinal processes. Before surgery we had some tight spaces but no touching, now we have one wearing a curve in its neighbour & 3 vertebrae down, we have two overlapping, wished Id never had it done as now have a 13 year old with a poor  prognosis for his future


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## Rollin (4 February 2018)

CarysTrooper said:



			My horse has just been diagnosed with kissing spine
He has had the injections done so I am giving him a couple of weeks off then start with some ground work. I am obviously hoping that these injections will work but if they don&#8217;t I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of how much the surgery cost are currently?
Thanks
		
Click to expand...

One of my horses was x-rayed for a totally different reason and they found very mild KS even though he had been very successful in competition in two disciplines. Never lame or difficult.  He was x-rayed because we thought he had been injured when away from home.   He was given a drip which included pain relief and drugs to reduce spasm.  I worked him under saddle as per vet's instructions - which were to canter in light seat BEFORE trotting.  Lots of warm up in walk long and low.  Six months later the x-rays were dramatic - a total cure.

Another 6 months and more x-rays - no problem.  Google HorseTalk NZ for an article Kiss your kissing spines goodbye.


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## paddi22 (4 February 2018)

i had two with kissing. one is out eventing happily, and one wended up on a  very reduced workload. 

How many of the spines were touching?


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## Ilonawells (15 February 2018)

Hi, I would really appreciate it if anyone whose horse has ever been treated with any complementary and alternative therapies e.g physiotherapy could fill out this quick survey. It will only take a few minutes and would really help my university project! Please feel free to add any comments or anecdotes on any of the topics discussed. Thank you !
https://goo.gl/forms/7365QJ94Qie2PLcz2


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## DancingCob (15 February 2018)

Unfortunately the injections didn&#8217;t work for my horse. I don&#8217;t recall the cost of surgery though, my insurer paid most of it thankfully. My horse had bone removed and it certainly wasn&#8217;t keyhole judging by the scar on his back, that was about 7.5 years ago.


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## EHOTex (3 April 2018)

Hello. Very sad to hear about your horses. 

Does anyone here has any suggestions on what is the best way to prevent such back problems? A well fitted saddles?


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## EHOTex (4 April 2018)

Very sad to hear. Maybe somebody here has suggestions on how to prevent such back injuries from happening?


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