Inferomedial placement of a single-entry subpalpebral lavage tube for treatment of equine eye disease.

The study describes a method for the placement of a subpalpebral lavage system in the lower lid of a horse’s eye, its associated complications and its overall effectiveness in treating equine eye diseases.

Methodology and Data Collection

• The study was retrospective in nature and involved evaluating data from 92 inferomedial subpalpebral lavage (ISPL) systems that were placed in 86 horses over a span of 31 months.
• Placement of the ISPL tube was done deep in the medial aspect of the inferior conjunctival fornix – an area in the lower eyelid of the horse. This is so that the footplate of the system lies flat between the lower eyelid and the anterior surface of the nictitans, another eye-related anatomical component in horses.
• The procedure was carried out using sedation and regional anesthesia only in about 59% of the horses.
• The collected data included the duration of the tube placement, the nature and frequency of complications, and the percentage of horses that retained vision following the treatment.

Findings and Conclusion

• The median duration for tube placement per horse was around 19 days, with a range from 1 to 61 days. Seventy-one horses were treated up to 55 days after hospital discharge with the ISPL tube still in place.
• No complications were reported in 59% of the ISPL systems. However, non-ocular complications were noted in 38% of the systems, which included issues like tube displacement (18%), suture loss requiring resuturing (14%), and damage to the injection port requiring replacement (6%).
• Ocular complications were quite rare, with only 3% of horses experiencing them. These were limited to inferior eyelid swelling, which implies that the method was largely safe for the horses’ eyes.
• Finally, about 88% of the horses retained their vision following the treatment, hinting at a good success rate.
• In conclusion, the study found that the ISPL system is easy and safe to place, well-tolerated for extended periods, and associated with minor and infrequent complications compared to the placement of subpalpebral lavage tubes in the upper eyelid.