Complications associated with intrauterine glass marbles in five mares.

The research article presents a case study involving five mares which showed reproductive complications following the long-term use of glass marbles intrauterine for estrus suppression.

Use of intrauterine glass marbles

• Five mares that had undergone estrus suppression through the insertion of glass marbles in their uterus were examined in this research. The presence of these marbles had induced various kinds of reproductive complications.
• They had been using these glass marbles for over a year. While three mares had one marble each, two had two marbles each.

Clinical findings

• Upon examination, it was found that two of the mares developed signs of chronic endometritis, an inflammation of the endometrium, while the other three showed signs of pyometra, which is a uterine infection with pus.
• Through hysteroscopy, which is an inspection of the uterus, it was identified that either marbles or glass shards were adhered to the endometrium in three out of the five mares.
• Inspection revealed that five out of the seven marbles were either broken or had surface imperfections.

Treatment and outcome

• All five mares were treated with uterine lavage, a process of cleaning the uterus, together with the administration of antimicrobials intrauterine and systemically.
• The antimicrobials were chosen based on the results of bacterial culture and susceptibility testing.
• Two out of the five mares were treated with intrauterine Tris-EDTA.
• While one mare was put down due to severe vaginal and cervical adhesions and chronic vaginal discharge, another one was lost to follow-up after three unsuccessful embryo transfer procedures.
• The remaining three mares showed no signs of reproductive disease at the time of follow-up but were not rebred.

Clinical relevance

• The findings of this research advise against the use of intrauterine glass marbles as they may lead to severe reproductive ramifications.
• Therefore, alternative methods of estrus suppression which possess less risk should be considered.