m McPhail Equine Back Clinic at MSU
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| High Tech Diagnosis with Dr. van Wessum by Tania Evans, Editor, Great Lakes Horse Sports, a regional online magazine |
The McPhail Equine Back Clinic is up and running at MSU, centered around some sophisticated machinery. But it’s not all about equine backs. All sorts of tendon and ligament issues are diagnosed and treated. When I was there with our thoroughbred Danny getting a check-up on the healing of his torn loin muscles there were several others for non-back analysis. . Head Clinician of the Mary Anne McPhail Equine Performance Center (MEPC), Robert van Wessum is a sport horse veterinarian whose sole focus is lameness diagnosis using ultra-modern technology. The equipment is provided in part by contributions from both the McPhail Center and the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH). While ultrasound diagnosis has been around for years, and nearly every vet on the road has a portable machine, such interior hoof examinations as the gray mare’s were impossible until recent developments. The MEPC's ultrasound machine has special probes and frequencies that can produce quality resolution, allowing tissue analysis of joint capsules, tendons, ligaments, cartilage in joints, the menisci in the stifle, and attachments of ligaments and tendons on bone and muscles throughout the body. This unit also provides Doppler readings which highlight the presence of blood flow activity. This feature means it can recognize separately vein and arterial blood. The Back Clinic’s ultrasound techniques for evaluation of a joint interior collect vastly more information than ever before about the soft tissues (capsule, synovial membrane, quality of the synovial fluid, quality of the cartilage). The ultrasound is especially helpful in diagnosing the less visible back and spinal injuries. Dr. van Wessum came to MSU from the Netherlands in 2005 with an interest in developing this diagnostic specialty for back problems, a goal realized in June with the opening of the Back Clinic. Dr. van Wessum is also an accomplished dressage rider, recently awarded USDF Silver at 4th and Prix St. George.
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A paint horse used for cowboy mounted shooting was being treated for collateral ligament damage. Another horse, a gray mare that belonged to MSU and being used by a high school equestrian team, was there to have the ligaments around the navicular bone examined. Dr. van Wessum was the diagnostician in all three cases.
Since his coming to MSU 1600 horses have come through his lameness diagnostic clinic from all parts of the country. Five hundred have been diagnosed with back problems. Many of the latter came to MSU because many of their regular vets couldn’t find the source of a chronic lameness or soreness, and so they referred their patients to VTH. Indeed, the number of back problem appears to loom large but, on balance, it’s logical because the horses are pre-selected, having been sent by vets because of longstanding problems.
Based on caseload, MSU’s facility is one of the largest vet teaching hospitals in the world, with 110 vets and 80 vet techs. Also, each year about 100 vet and 45 vet tech students graduate from MSU, College of Vet Medicine. The entire VTH serves 23,000 patients each year. Visit this site for more on the VTH’s approach to equine lameness and performance: 
