A preliminary study of diagnostic color Doppler ultrasonography in equine superficial digital flexor tendonitis.

We hypothesized that semi-quantitative determinations of changeable blood flows in granulation and scar tissues during tendon healing could be helpful for differentiation between the acute phase rich in blood vessels and the remodeling phase with fewer vessels. Ten Thoroughbreds with injured superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) in a forelimb were used for evaluation of blood flows in the injured tendons of racehorses using color Doppler (CD) ultrasonography. Using longitudinal CD images, features of maximum color activities were defined. These were rhythmically blinking, tiny to small signals (grade 1), pulsatile expanded dots (grade 2), and dynamic streams (grade 3). Grade of color activity in CD ultrasonography could be useful for quantitative assessment of equine SDFT repair.