Surgery for horses encompasses a range of procedures performed to diagnose, treat, or manage various medical conditions. These procedures may involve soft tissue or orthopedic interventions and require specialized techniques to accommodate the unique anatomical and physiological characteristics of equines. Common surgical procedures in horses include colic surgery, fracture repair, and arthroscopy. The success of equine surgery depends on numerous factors, including the type of procedure, the horse's overall health, and post-operative care. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore surgical techniques, outcomes, and advancements in equine surgical practices.
Nixon AJ.Periarticular anatomy and techniques for arthroscopic access to the equine elbow were studied in six joints from cadavers. Caudomedial and craniolateral approaches were evaluated subsequently in 11 anesthetized horses. The caudomedial approach was made between the flexor carpi radialis and flexor carpi ulnaris muscle bellies. Most of the caudal articular surfaces of the humeral condyles, the caudal perimeter of the radius, and the trochlear notch and portions of the anconeal process of the ulna could be identified. The voluminous caudal joint capsule cul-de-sac proximal to the anconeal process...
Easley KJ, Stashak TS, Smith FW, Van Slyke G.Thirty-six superficial digital flexor tendons from nine fresh equine cadavers were transected and sutured with size 2 monofilament nylon. Nine tendons were repaired with each of four suture patterns: single-locking loop, double-locking loop, triple-locking loop, or three-loop pulley. The times required for application, tensile strengths, resistance to distraction (gap), and modes of failure were analyzed. The mean times required were: single-locking loop, 3 mins, 15 secs; double-locking loop, 4 mins, 15 secs; triple-locking loop, 10 mins, 50 secs; and three-loop pulley, 4 mins. The double-lock...
Freeman DE, Orsini PG, Ross MW, Madison JB.A large frontonasal bone flap was created to treat diseases of the paranasal sinuses in 14 horses. The bone flap was made as wide as possible within the confines of the nasolacrimal duct so the floor of the frontal sinus and the dorsal and ventral conchae could be opened. These openings exposed the nasal passages, maxillary sinuses, and ventral conchal sinus thereby facilitating removal of diffuse and localized lesions from these sites. Diseases treated were ethmoid hematomas (4 horses), sinus cysts (5 horses), cryptococcal granuloma, osteoma, hemangiosarcoma, pus in the ventral conchal sinus,...
Riggs C, Whitley RD.Intraocular silicone prostheses were implanted in the eyes of a horse and a dog with traumatic corneal lacerations and protrusion of intraocular contents. Several months after surgery, the horse and dog were tolerating the intraocular prostheses, and the appearance was cosmetically acceptable. This contradicts earlier reports that have cited corneal disease as a contraindication for implantation of intraocular silicone prostheses.
Allison N, Gillis JP.Enteric pythiosis was diagnosed in a 2-year-old Quarter Horse gelding. The horse had signs of colic, which appeared to be alleviated by administration of mineral oil and analgesics, but only temporarily. Intestinal distention developed after initial examination. At surgery, a thick stenotic area was observed in the middle portion of the jejunum. The thick intestine and associated mesentery contained multiple firm nodules of gritty caseous material. Histopathologic findings included sclerosing eosinophilic granulomatous enteritis and peritonitis. Although the lesion resembled a response to migr...
Beard WL, Robertson JT, Leeth B.Congenital frontal sinus cysts were found bilaterally in the frontal sinuses of a one-year-old miniature horse. Diagnosis was based on radiography of the head and cytologic examination of tissue aspirated from the frontal sinuses. The cysts were surgically removed, using a hinged bone flap technique bilaterally over the frontal sinuses.
English RV, Nasisse MP, Davidson MG.Limbal squamous cell carcinoma in 4 horses was treated successfully, using carbon dioxide laser ablation. Tumors were removed, with minimal to no postoperative inflammation or discomfort to the horses. Carbon dioxide laser ablation represents a promising new option in the treatment of limbal squamous cell carcinoma in horses.
Watson ED.The mechanisms that permit maternal tolerance of the conceptus allograft during early pregnancy in the mare have not been investigated. Embryos and endometria were collected from mares 14 days after ovulation and cultured for 20.5 h. The effect of addition of culture supernatant on incorporation of [3H]thymidine by equine peripheral blood lymphocytes was studied. Culture supernatant from endometrium of nonpregnant mares did not affect lymphocyte blastogenesis, but supernatant from both embryos and endometrium of pregnant mares reduced concanavalin A (Con A)- and phytohemagglutinin-induced blas...
Jann HW, Rains JR.The location and size of 11 retained testes were accurately determined ultrasonographically. There was 100% correlation between the location of the testis determined by ultrasound vs that determined by surgery. Testicular size determined presurgically in all cases closely approximated the actual size obtained by gross measurement of the excised testis. The cryptorchid testicular echotexture was less dense than that of the normal descended testicles, but was easily identified. Ultrasonographic evaluations were completed by use of an ultrasound base unit with attached 5-MHz transrectal transduce...
Chaffin MK, Ruoff WW, Schmitz DG, Carter GK, Morris EL, Steyn P.The research paper documents a case of Hypertrophic Osteopathy (HO) in a young Arabian horse, where response to treatment and significant regression of the disease following management of an intrathoracic […]
Pringle JK, Ducharme NG, Baird JD.Ureterovesicular anastomosis resulted in resolution of the clinical signs of urinary incontinence in three horses with unilateral ectopic ureter. Follow-up of two of the horses ten months and three years later indicated no further urinary tract problems; the third horse died four days after surgery from intestinal infarction.Diagnosis can be readily confirmed by antegrade or retrograde ureterography, or endoscopic visualization of the ectopic ureteral openings. Nephrectomy appears indicated in cases of unilateral ectopic ureter with associated ipsilateral urinary tract infection or hydronephro...
Specht TE, Colahan PT.Eleven horses with acute or chronic incomplete cortical fractures of the left or right third metacarpal bone (McIII) were treated with surgical puncture (osteostixis). The fractures were diagnosed by physical examination and radiography. Four to eight holes, 2.7 or 3.5 mm in diameter, were drilled in the fractured bone. Radiographically, the fractures were healed by month 3, and the drill holes were inapparent by month 7. Nine horses (82%) returned to race competition, and two horses were retired, one the result of a surgical complication. The mean time between surgery and the first race was 9...
Jann HW, Stein LE, Good JK.Size 3-0 polydioxanone was used as a single strand, single braid (3 strands), or double braid (6 strands) to create six suture material-pattern combinations for equine tenorrhaphy: single-strand locking loop, single-braid locking loop, double-braid locking loop, single-strand three-loop pulley, single-braid three-loop pulley, and double-braid three-loop pulley. Maximum load to failure for the single-strand locking loop (46.1 +/- 2.9 newtons [N]) was less than for all other sutures (range, 103-155 N). The load required to form a 2 mm gap between tendon ends was greater for the single-braid thre...
Baird AN, Taylor JR, Watkins JP.Radiographically, osteolysis of the physis consistent with a septic physitis was observed in 3 foals. The foals were treated with surgical debridement and antimicrobials. Two of the horses were sound for use as adults; the third was euthanatized due to concurrent infectious arthritis and septicemia.
van der Velden MA, Rutgers LJ.During a 10 year period, 18 horses were treated surgically because of visceral prolapse after castration. Surgery was successful in six cases of omental prolapse and in eight out of 12 cases of intestinal prolapse. To minimise the risk of visceral prolapse, the authors prefer half-closed castration, with proper ligation of the parietal vaginal tunic, to open castration. If adequate treatment is started promptly, prognosis in cases of visceral prolapse is favourable.
Juzwiak JS, Slone DE, Santschi EM, Moll HD.The case records of 19 mares undergoing caudal ventral midline celiotomy for cesarean section were reviewed. Surgical exposure to the uterus was good, and the incisions healed by first intention in surviving mares. Seventeen mares (89%) survived to time of hospital discharge. Six foals (32%) were delivered alive, of which three were euthanatized because of severe deformity (1 died on day 6 and 2 survived to time of discharge). The most frequent postoperative complications were abdominal pain (13 mares), anemia (10 mares), and retained placenta (6 mares). Sixteen mares were bred during at least...
van der Velden MA, Stolk PW.Three horses with different and unusual types of inguinal herniation outside the vaginal cavity are described in detail. Attention is paid to the differences between these conditions and the more commonly occurring inguinal herniation inside the vaginal cavity.
Gaughan EM, Hackett RP, Ducharme NG, Rakestraw PC.Sensory innervation of the larynx was examined by tactile stimulation with a blunt biopsy forceps passed through a flexible videoendoscope. Twenty horses with no evidence of laryngeal motor deficit were stimulated on 10 sites by touch with the forceps. Unilateral neurectomies of the internal branch of the left cranial laryngeal nerve were performed on 5 other horses. These horses were stimulated by touch on the same sites preoperatively and up to 1 week postoperatively. In all 25 horses the motor response of the larynx was recorded on videotape and evaluated by 2 observers blind as to treatmen...
Kaegi B.25 horses which entered the clinic for minor surgery, received ketamine (2.2 mg/kg i.v.) for induction of anesthesia after previous sedation with xylazine (1.1 mg/kg i.v.). As soon as the horses were in the lateral recumbency, the benzodiazepine derivate climazolam was administered at a dose of 0.1 mg/kg i.v. (10 horses) or 0.2 mg/kg i.v. (15 horses). The anesthesia was maintained with repeated injections of ketamine (1.1 mg/kg i.v. every 9-12 minutes). At the end of the surgery, 20 minutes after the last ketamine injection, Ro 15-3505, a benzodiazepine antagonist, was injected at a dose of 0....
Burns GA, Karcher LF, Cummings JF.A 4-year-old Standardbred mare was referred to the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine for colic evaluation. Physical examination revealed a small colon impaction which initially responded to conservative medical management. Her signs soon recurred, however, and an exploratory celiotomy was recommended. At surgery the small colon impaction was confirmed. The impaction was evacuated and a surgical biopsy was submitted for histopathologic evaluation. Microscopic examination of H&E and Trichrome sections revealed a massive mononuclear cell infiltration of the myenteric plexus. In additi...
Hunt DA, Snyder JR, Morgan JP, Pascoe JR.The medical records of 25 horses 1 year of age or younger affected with femoral head and neck fractures during an 18 year period were reviewed. Each fracture involved the capital physis. The foals were 11 days to 12 months of age (mean, 5 months). No femoral capital physeal fractures occurred in horses older than 1 year of age during the same period. The history in each case included acute onset of severe unilateral hindlimb lameness, 3 hours to 2 months (mean, 12 days) before presentation. Injuries observed were violent falls, struggles, and kicks. Crepitation, swelling, pain with manipulatio...
Dean PW, Nelson JK, Schumacher J.Cartilage retention strengths of laryngoplasty prostheses were compared in larynges of 2-, 3-, and 4-year-old horses, using doubled polyester and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene prostheses. Bilateral laryngoplasties were performed on each of 15 (seven 2-year-old, two 3-year-old, and six 4-year-old) larynges, which were collected at an abbatoir. Prostheses were secured to a mechanical testing machine, and tension causing arytenoid cartilage abduction was applied, until total failure of the cartilage or prosthesis resulted. Tension caused cricoid cartilage failure in 1 specimen, and muscular pr...
Geddes LA.The benchmarks in cardiac pacing are identified, beginning with F. Steiner (1871), who rhythmically stimulated the chloroform-arrested hearts of 3 horses, 1 donkey, 10 dogs, 14 cats, and 8 rabbits. The chloroform-arrested heart in human subjects was paced by T. Greene in the following year (1872) in the UK. In 1882, H. Ziemssen in Germany applied cardiac pacing to a 42-year old woman who had a large defect in the anterior left chest wall subsequent to resection of an enchondroma. Intentional cardiac pacing did not occur until 1932, when A.A. Hyman in the US demonstrated that cardiac pacing cou...
Ford TS, Freeman DE, Ross MW, Richardson DW, Martin BB, Madison JB.The case records of 26 horses with ileocecal intussusception over a 7-year period were reviewed to determine clinical features of the disease and response to treatment. The median age of horses with ileocecal intussusception was 1 year and ranged from 2 weeks to 19 years. There was no apparent gender or breed predisposition to this disease. An acute form of ileocecal intussusception was diagnosed in 19 horses with signs of moderate to severe abdominal pain of less than or equal to 24 hours' duration, and a chronic form was diagnosed in 7 horses with signs of intermittent, mild to moderate abdo...
Trotter GW.Although many wounds in horses heal successfully by second-intention healing or delayed closure, some wounds can be sutured primarily, with reasonably high expectations of first-intention healing. To expect to achieve these results, one needs to have a rational treatment plan. Such a plan should be based on a working knowledge of the biology of tissue repair and tissue infection. Treatment decisions should be based more on results of experimental and clinical trials rather than on testimonials of other practitioners.
Gift LJ, DeBowes RM.Nonhealing wounds can present a frustrating clinical challenge to the veterinary practitioner. In many cases, healing is delayed by the presence of a foreign body or sequestrum; a review of wounds complicated by the presence of osseous sequestration and penetrating foreign bodies is presented. The typical signs include delayed wound healing and the presence of serous to exudative drainage, which may vary from intermittent to continuous. The use of radiographic or sonographic imaging modalities is often of value in reaching a diagnosis. Removal of the sequestra or foreign body is generally cura...
Peyton LC, Connelly MB.Bacterial quantification was evaluated in 15 cases as a means of wound assessment. This study suggests that bacterial quantification may be used as an aid in the evaluation of treatment procedures and wound preparation in veterinary surgery.
Clarke KL, Reardon R, Russell T.To determine if arthroscopic surgery performed on weanlings/yearlings with trochlear ridge OCD of the femur (stifle OCD), or intermediate ridge of the tibia (tarsal OCD) detected on routine presale radiographs affects future racing performance. Methods: Retrospective case control study. Methods: Thoroughbred weanlings and yearlings. Methods: Stifle (N = 37; 22 male, 15 female) and tarsal (N = 35; 22 male, 13 female) OCD cases were identified. Outcome measures relating to racing performance (number of race starts, wins, places, and prize money earned, from races in their 2- and 3-year-old racin...
Eicker SW, Ainsworth DM.A procedure was developed for the collection, preparation, storage, and administration of equine plasma. The technique involved exsanguination of anesthetized donor horses via carotid artery catheterization with a large-bore cannula. Blood was collected into plastic bags, allowed to settle by gravity, then transferred into storage bags and frozen. These were quickly thawed when needed.
Tate LP, Sweeney CL, Cullen JM, Corbett WT, Newman HC, Brown TC, Ketner MT.A neodymium:yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser was used to study effects of applying laser irradiation transendoscopically to the corniculate process of the arytenoid cartilage in horses. Dosimetry was established initially in vitro in 10 corniculate cartilages that were irradiated and examined histologically to determine penetration depths at selected power settings. Eleven horses were given xylazine IV and butorphoral tartrate IV, and their left ventricle and corniculate process were irradiated. Six horses had left laryngeal hemiplegia and were euthanatized and necropsied 14 weeks after ...
Jann H, Pasquini C.The authors describe the clinically relevant structures of the distal limb and the current diagnostic and treatment modalities. Specific problems include tendon laceration, septic tenosynovitis, and sep-tic arthritis of the distal joints. A detailed description of tendon repair, tendon sheath lavage, and postoperative convalescent methodology is provided. This article makes available to the reader information necessary to appropriately diagnose and treat wounds of the distal equine limb involving deep structures. Information on the overall prognosis is also provided.
Wilson DG, Roquet I, Tucker ML, Carmalt JL.Evaluation of the strength of the novel suture technique by comparison with a 2-interrupted suture technique. Methods: 40 equine larynges. Methods: 40 larynges were used; 16 laryngoplasties were performed using the currently accepted 2-suture technique and 16 using the novel suture technique. These specimens were subjected to a single cycle to failure. Eight specimens were used to compare the rima glottidis area achieved with 2 different techniques. Results: The mean force to failure, as well as the rima glottidis area of both constructs, were not significantly different. The cricoid width did...
Derksen FJ, Robinson NE, Stick JA.A surgical technique is described for preparation of chronic cervical vagal loops in ponies. Vagal blockade was induced by circulating methanol (-2 C) through coils which enclosed the loops. Vagal blockade increased tidal volume, heart rate, and systemic blood pressure and decreased respiratory rate. Atropine, given at a dose of 0.04 mg/kg IV, increased heart rate and systemic pressure but did not alter respiratory variables, indicating that vagal cooling caused both afferent and efferent blockade. The effects of vagal blockade were rapidly reversed when refrigerated coils were removed.