Abdominal adhesions after small intestinal surgery in the horse.
Abstract: One hundred thirteen of 172 horses (66%) undergoing exploratory celiotomy for a small intestinal lesion survived 4 or more days after surgery. Intra-abdominal adhesions causing clinical problems requiring additional surgery or euthanasia were documented in 25 horses (22.1%). Problems developed in significantly more males than females. The most common initial small bowel lesion was ileal impaction (12 horses); 21 horses underwent small intestinal resection or bypass. However, there was no significant difference in the incidence of intra-abdominal adhesions between horses that underwent intestinal resection or bypass and those that did not. Only 4 of the 25 horses (16%) with problems associated with postoperative adhesions survived. The mean interval between surgical procedures or between the initial procedure and euthanasia for all horses was 84 days (range, 7-512 days; median, 25 days). However, 70% of the subsequent celiotomies were performed within 60 days of the previous surgery. The mean interval between celiotomies was 221 days (range, 9-512 days) for the survivors and 61 days (range, 7-358 days) for the nonsurvivors. These results indicated that most of the problems related to postoperative intra-abdominal adhesions occurred within 2 months of the initial small intestinal surgery. Furthermore, the earlier development of postoperative adhesions was associated with a poorer prognosis for survival.
Publication Date: 1989-11-01 PubMed ID: 2603370DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-950x.1990.tb01115.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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This research article investigates the occurrence of post-surgical abdominal adhesions in horses following small intestinal surgery, their frequency, possible impact factors, and associated survival rates.
Research Methodology
- The study followed 172 horses undertaking exploratory celiotomy, a surgical procedure on the small intestine. The subjects were tracked for at least four days post-surgery.
- Researchers documented instances where intra-abdominal adhesions, fibrous bands that form between tissues and organs after surgery, led to additional issues which required further intervention, either surgical or euthanasia.
- Data gathered included the sex of the horses, the types of intestinal lesions initially discovered, whether the animals underwent small intestinal resection or bypass, and the time between consequent surgeries or until euthanasia.
Findings
- The majority (66%) of the horses survived for four or more days post-surgery. 22.1% of them developed clinically significant adhesions, which was more common in male horses.
- The most frequently documented initial small bowel issue was ileal impaction, which affected 12 of the horses. A total of 21 horses underwent a small intestinal resection or bypass.
- The study found no significant correlation between the incidence of intra-abdominal adhesions and whether the horse underwent intestinal resection or bypass. It seemed that the procedure type did not significantly influence the risk of developing postoperative adhesions.
- Only 16% of the horses with postoperative adhesion problems survived. The average interval between surgical procedures or between the initial procedure and euthanasia for all horses was roughly three months, but most problems occurred within two months post-surgery.
- The average time between surgeries was longer for surviving horses (approximately seven months) compared to non-survivors (approximately two months), suggesting that the sooner adhesions developed, the lower the horse’s survival prognosis.
Cite This Article
APA
Baxter GM, Broome TE, Moore JN.
(1989).
Abdominal adhesions after small intestinal surgery in the horse.
Vet Surg, 18(6), 409-414.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-950x.1990.tb01115.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Large Animal Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens 30602.
MeSH Terms
- Age Factors
- Animals
- Breeding
- Female
- Horses / surgery
- Intestinal Diseases / etiology
- Intestinal Diseases / veterinary
- Intestinal Obstruction / etiology
- Intestinal Obstruction / veterinary
- Intestine, Small / surgery
- Male
- Postoperative Complications / veterinary
- Prognosis
- Retrospective Studies
- Sex Factors
- Tissue Adhesions / etiology
- Tissue Adhesions / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 5 times.- Erwin SJ, Clark ME, Dechant JE, Aitken MR, Hassel DM, Blikslager AT, Ziegler AL. Multi-Institutional Retrospective Case-Control Study Evaluating Clinical Outcomes of Foals with Small Intestinal Strangulating Obstruction: 2000-2020.. Animals (Basel) 2022 May 27;12(11).
- Lenoir A, Perrin BRM, Lepage OM. Ex Vivo Comparison of a UV-Polymerizable Methacrylate Adhesive versus an Inverting Pattern as the Second Layer of a Two-Layer Hand-Sewn Jejunal Anastomosis in Horses: A Pilot Study.. Vet Med Int 2021;2021:5545758.
- Lillich JD, Ray-Miller W, Silver KS, Davis EG, Schultz BD. Intra-abdominal hyaluronan concentration in peritoneal fluid of horses with sudden signs of severe abdominal pain.. Am J Vet Res 2011 Dec;72(12):1666-73.
- Singer ER, Livesey MA, Barker IK, Hurtig MB, Conlon PD. Utilization of the serosal scarification model of postoperative intestinal adhesion formation to investigate potential adhesion-preventing substances in the rabbit.. Can J Vet Res 1996 Oct;60(4):305-11.
- Singer ER, Livesey MA, Barker IK, Hurtig MB, Conlon PD. Development of a laboratory animal model of postoperative small intestinal adhesion formation in the rabbit.. Can J Vet Res 1996 Oct;60(4):296-304.
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