Diagnosis and surgical treatment of functional obstruction of the right dorsal colon in a horse.

The research paper discusses the diagnosis and surgical treatment of a functional obstruction in the right dorsal colon of a 6-year-old American Saddlebred horse, with subsequent recovery.

Introduction

The study features the case of a 6-year-old American Saddlebred horse with symptoms such as appetite loss, depression, weight loss and intermittent colic. Upon examination, a functional obstruction was diagnosed in the right dorsal colon of the horse. This condition is generally rare and challenging to diagnose. The obstruction does not involve physical blockage but rather an inability for the colon to properly function and move digestive products.

Procedure

• Based on the symptomatology and the absence of remarkable findings in regional colonic lymph nodes, the horse underwent a surgical procedure to address the functional obstruction in the right dorsal colon.
• The surgical technique used was a side-to-side anastomosis. This procedure involves creating a connection between two pieces of intestine, in this case, the right dorsal colon and the small colon.
• This allowed the digestive contents to bypass the affected portion of the horse’s colon, effectively addressing the functional obstruction.

Results

• The histopathologic examinations of the right dorsal colon and the regional colonic lymph nodes did not show any remarkable findings, supporting the conclusion the obstruction was functional and not due to disease or structural abnormality.
• The surgical treatment proved successful in addressing the horse’s symptoms, leading to the conclusion that side-to-side anastomosis is an effective surgical procedure for functional obstruction in horses.

Conclusion

• The study demonstrates the effectiveness of surgical intervention in the case of functional obstruction in the right dorsal colon of horses.
• It also underscores the importance of accurate diagnosis before surgical intervention and the role of surgery in resolving functional gut obstructions.