2016 CVM News: CVM's Ducharme performs first-in-the-world implant to relieve mare's chronic pain

Abstract

The news item from the Press Republican [Plattsburgh, New York] is about: Pinn put the Macners in touch with Dr. Norm Ducharme, James Law Professor of Large Animal Surgery, Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca. Ducharme had successfully implanted pacemakers in horses with recurrent laryngeal neuropathy, a condition that causes a progressive destruction of the nerve supply to the muscles of a horse’s larynx. The pacemaker, which is surgically implanted in a horse’s throat, uses electrical stimulation to mimic the work of damaged nerves. “(Dr. Ducharme) proposed a highly experimental surgery on Hazel in which electrodes would be implanted directly in contact with her trigeminal nerves,” said Sharon.