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Topic:Surgery
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.
Curettage of subchondral bone cysts in medial femoral condyles of the horse. Fifty-one horses and unilateral or bilateral femorotibial arthrotomy with medial condyle bone cyst curettage. A total of 60 cyst were treated. Treated horses responded to the surgery three to 12 months postoperatively. In 42 horses lameness was reduced or eliminated, enabling them to return to an remain in their intended function. Of these 42 horses 35 are sound, four of which have not started training, and seven showed partial improvement, two of which had no long term follow up. Of the remaining nine horses, two showed no reduction in lameness and seven were not followed up. Arthrotomy was s...
Partial arytenoidectomy in the horse with and without mucosal closure. Left-sided partial arytenoidectomy was performed in eight horses to evaluate healing. Four horses underwent conventional partial arytenoidectomy with suture apposition of the mucosa. In four horses, most of the arytenoid cartilage, including overlying mucosa, vocal fold, and laryngeal saccule, were excised en bloc without mucosal closure. The horses were monitored clinically by endoscopic examination. One horse from each group was euthanatized at weeks 2, 4, 8, and 16. Complete necropsies with gross and histologic examination of the arytenoidectomy sites were performed. Postoperative complicat...
Small intestinal obstruction associated with wood chewing in two horses. Although wood chewing by horses is recognised as a common vice, there are few reports of specific disease associated with the habit. Two cases of acute obstruction of the small intestine by solid aggregations of wood splinters are described in horses which were both habitual wood chewers. Details are presented of the clinical findings in these cases, including the surgical treatment of acute colic. Both horses returned to full working fitness. The authors review the syndrome of enterolithiasis in horses, and discuss the causes and significance of wood chewing as a stable vice.
Esophageal duplication cyst as a cause of choke in the horse. A mare was examined for episodic choking and an abscess in the perilaryngeal region. One month before referral, the mass progressively enlarged, causing esophageal choking. An extraluminal compression of the esophagus 90 cm from the external nares was found on endoscopy and contrast radiography. Serosanguinous fluid aspirated from the mass contained keratinized squamous cells and neutrophils, compatible with an esophageal cyst. Surgical exploration was performed, with incomplete surgical excision. The remaining portion of the cyst was marsupialized and treated locally with a 2% inorganic iodin...
Intraocular silicone prosthesis in a horse. A 40-mm intraocular silicone prosthesis was placed in a horse's globe to control glaucoma. The glaucoma was suspected to be associated with a lens subluxation, but primary glaucoma could not be ruled out. Medical treatment and cyclocryotherapy had been attempted, but failed to decrease the intraocular pressure to a normal value. The prosthesis was placed, via a dorsal scleral incision, after removal of the intraocular contents. The size of the prosthesis was estimated from measurements of the horse's normal left globe and an enucleated, age-matched globe. Silicone prostheses offer a cosmetic a...
Nonsurgical treatment of uterine torsion in seven mares. Nonsurgical correction of uterine torsion was performed in 7 mares, and 6 foals were subsequently born alive. Uterine rupture necessitated euthanasia in 1 mare. Correction was achieved by rolling of the mares after general anesthesia had been induced. Previously, this technique was believed to be associated with a high prevalence of fetal and maternal mortality. Nonsurgical correction may be a satisfactory alternative to abdominal surgery in treating uterine torsion in mares.
Trauma and the veterinarian. A survey of all American Veterinary Medical Association members in Minnesota and Wisconsin was conducted by questionnaire to document injuries resulting from animal treatment. Of 995 respondents, 64.6% had sustained a major animal-related injury. Seventeen per cent were hospitalized within the last year. Of those hospitalized, 25.3% required a surgical procedure. Hand injuries were most common in a veterinarian's career (52.6% of respondents), followed by trauma to the arms (27.6%), and the head (20.8%). The thorax (8.3%), genitalia (3.9%), and intra-abdominal viscera (2.8%) were injured less ...
Chylothorax associated with a congenital diaphragmatic defect in a foal. PLEURAL effusions (the presence of excessive quantities of pleural fluid) have been associated with a variety of disease processes affecting the equine thorax. The majority of reported cases have involved exudative effusions associated with pneumonia, lung abscesses or neoplasia (Raphel and Beech 1982 Mair 1987). Transudative effusions have been less com• monly described, being associated with such conditions as hypoproteinaemia. cardiac failure and diaphragmatic rupture. Chylothorax, the accumulation of chylous fluid in the mediastinum and/or pleural cavity, is a relatively uncommon conditi...
Intestinal carcinoid in a mare: an etiologic consideration for chronic colic in horses. Intestinal carcinoid, or argentaffinoma, should be an etiologic consideration for horses with chronic colic. A mare was referred with a history of chronic colic. Previously, the signs of colic had subsided in response to impiric treatment, but recent episodes of colic did not. Clinical signs and results of physical examination supported the finding of strangulating obstruction of the small intestine. Exploratory celiotomy revealed internal herniation with simultaneous volvulus of the jejunum and accompanying carcinoid.
Postanesthetic hind limb adductor myopathy in five horses. Five horses that underwent prolonged anesthesia (greater than 3 hours) in dorsal recumbency for a surgical procedure were unable to stand after recovery and were euthanatized. A provisional diagnosis of postanesthetic myopathy was confirmed at necropsy in all 5 horses. However, distribution of affected muscles in these horses was atypical, because there was bilateral hind limb adductor muscle involvement.
Surgical reconstruction of a ruptured medial collateral ligament in a foal. An avulsed carpal medial collateral ligament was diagnosed by clinical and radiographic examination in a 1-day-old foal that was unable to bear weight on the affected limb. The foal had a valgus deviation originating at the carpus and medial to lateral instability of the affected carpus. The ligament was reconstructed with screws and suture tape. Surgical reconstruction is a viable alternative to long-term casting or splinting for treatment of a ruptured carpal medial collateral ligament in a foal.
Effect of splenectomy on exercise-induced pulmonary and systemic hypertension in ponies. Large increases in systemic and pulmonary arterial pressures of exercising healthy ponies have been observed. Because exercise causes a considerable increase in PCV of ponies, we examined the effect of splenectomy on exercise-induced changes in systemic and pulmonary pressures. These pressures (taken with catheter-tip micromanometers) and indicator dilution cardiac output were determined on 9 healthy ponies that had undergone splenectomy 4 to 9 weeks before the study. Data obtained at rest and during submaximal (10.5 to 11.0 mph) and maximal (14 to 15 mph) exercise from these ponies were compa...
Effect of third carpal slab fracture and repair on racing performance in Thoroughbred horses: 31 cases (1977-1984). Between 1977 and 1984, 31 Thoroughbred horses (mean age, 2.8 years) were surgically treated for slab fractures of the third carpal bone. All fractures involved the articular surfaces of the intercarpal and the carpometacarpal joints in a frontal plane and had a cuboidal or slab shape. In 20 of the horses, the bone was fractured during racing and in 8 of the horses, the bone was fractured during race training. The right limb was affected more frequently than was the left limb (24 vs 7, P less than 0.05). Twenty-one (67.6%) horses raced at least once after recovery from the surgery. Data were av...
The pathogenesis and treatment of osteomyelitis and laminitis in a stallion after the prolonged topical application of formalin to the distal phalanx. A 12-year-old Quarterhorse stallion was presented with a severe lameness in the left forefoot. There was a 3 cm diameter cavity in the sole that extended to the solar surface of the distal phalanx. Radiographs revealed an osteomyelitis and a sequestrum which probably developed following the prolonged topical application of 10 percent formalin. The sequestrum was removed and the infected bone curetted under general anaesthesia. The horse was shod with heart bar shoes on both front feet 7 days after the surgery. Eight months later, radiographs showed marked rotation of the distal phalanx despite...
Morphologic alterations observed during experimental ischemia of the equine large colon. Morphologic changes that develop sequentially in the large colon during experimentally induced ischemia were documented in 14 halothane-anesthetized horses. Colonic ischemia was induced by 4 types of vascular occlusion, 24 cm proximal and distal to the pelvic flexure. The effect of transmural (colonic wall) vascular compression combined with either venous occlusion (3 horses, group A) or venous and arterial occlusion (3 horses, group B) of the colonic vessels was studied for 1, 2, and 6 hours of occlusion. Also observed was the effect of reperfusion for 0.5 hour after release of the clamps for...
Comparison of clinical judgment, Doppler ultrasound, and fluorescein fluorescence as methods for predicting intestinal viability in the pony. Strangulation obstruction was induced in anesthetized ponies for periods of 2 and 3 hours by clamping 45-cm segments of jejunum and associated veins (venous strangulation obstruction) and arteries and veins (arterial and venous strangulation obstruction). Four segments were studied in each of 7 ponies allowed to survive 12 hours, 2 segments in a pony that was allowed to survive 1 hour, and 1 segment in each of 10 ponies allowed to survive 42 days after the strangulation periods ended. Fifteen minutes after the periods of strangulation obstruction ended, the viability of test segments was asses...
Early mucosal healing and chronic changes in pony jejunum after various types of strangulation obstruction. Strangulation obstruction was induced in anesthetized ponies for periods of 2 and 3 hours by clamping 45-cm segments of jejunum and their veins only (venous strangulation obstruction, VSO) and arteries and veins (arterial and venous strangulation obstruction, AVSO). These types of strangulation obstruction were studied in 4 segments in each of 4 ponies allowed to survive 12 hours (group 1) and in a single segment in each of 10 ponies allowed to survive 42 days (group 2) after the strangulation period ended. On visual inspection, segments subjected to VSO had hemorrhage and edema in the bowel w...
Use of lag screw fixation for repair of a central tarsal bone fracture in a horse. An 8-year-old Thoroughbred gelding was determined to have a sagittal fracture of the central tarsal bone. Lag screw fixation of the fracture enabled the horse to return to jumping, although degenerative arthritis of the distal intertarsal joint was apparent radiographically 17 months after the injury.
Osteoma of paranasal sinuses of a horse. A 2-year-old Quarter Horse gelding was examined for torticollis, facial protuberances over the frontal and maxillary sinuses, and persistent nasal discharge unresponsive to antibiotics. Radiograph revealed an osseous mass in the right paranasal sinuses. Histologic examination of the biopsied mass led to a diagnosis of osteoma. The mass was removed surgically in sections from the right frontal and maxillary sinuses through separate bone flaps, and sinuses were irrigated with saline solution for 8 days after surgery. Two weeks after surgery, radiography revealed small osseous opacities in the ri...
Surgical treatment of acquired inguinal hernia in the horse: a review of 51 cases. During a seven year period, 51 cases of acquired inguinal herniation in 50 stallions were treated surgically. In 25 cases the herniated loop was ileal, in the other 26 it was jejunal. In cases of strangulation, the vaginal ring was enlarged by incising the peritoneum and transverse fascia. Closure of the superficial inguinal ring was advisable to prevent the hernia recurring. In all cases unilateral castration was performed. Laparotomy was carried out in 33 cases; 22 required intestinal resection and in four cases a bypass was made. Follow-up at least six months postoperatively indicated that ...
Ruptured inguinal hernia in new-born colt foals: a review of 14 cases. Over a six year period, 14 new-born colt foals were treated surgically because of ruptured inguinal hernia. In all cases, the prolapsed intestines, which were jejunal loops, were situated subcutaneously and protruded through a rent in the parietal vaginal tunic at the level of the inguinal canal. After herniorrhaphy and unilateral castration, the prolapsed loops were replaced into the abdomen, and the superficial inguinal ring closed. Seven foals survived.
A modified Cloward’s technique for arthrodesis of the normal metacarpophalangeal joint in the horse. A modified Cloward's technique was performed for arthrodesis of one metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint in eight horses. Dorsal arthrotomies were performed medial and lateral to the common digital extensor tendon and two 16 mm holes were drilled through the joint. A perforated cylindrical stainless steel basket filled with cancellous bone was impacted into each hole. The limbs were supported in casts for 8 weeks. The joints were examined and radiographed at 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 6 months, and 10 months. One horse was euthanatized at week 14 to assess the progress of the arthrodesis. In the other seven...
Anesthetic considerations for emergency equine abdominal surgery. The physiologic changes that take place in horses presented for emergency abdominal surgery and the effects of these changes on the horse's anesthetic management are discussed.
Intensive care of the patient after abdominal surgery. After surgical correction of the underlying abdominal disorder, careful postoperative care is the most important factor resulting in increased survival rates. Intensive care of the postoperative patient can be done practically and economically.
