Surgical treatment of sand colic in equids: 48 cases (1978-1985).

The research investigated the surgical treatment of sand colic, a digestive condition in horses and ponies which involves blockage in the intestine caused by sand, examining 48 cases between 1978-1985. The study highlighted the clinical features, diagnostic obstacles, surgical procedures used, and outcomes of treatment.

Methodology and Cases

• The study reviewed the medical records of 48 equids, which included 47 horses and 1 pony, all diagnosed with sand colic.
• The diagnosis was made based on the findings during an exploratory abdominal surgery – either a sand impaction palpated or a significant amount of sand found during a procedure known as colotomy.
• Most of these animals had not experienced an earlier episode of sand diarrhea or sand colic.

Clinical Findings and Diagnostic Limitations

• Neither the clinical findings nor the results from clinicopathologic tests were definitive in the diagnosis of sand colic.
• Rectal palpation was carried out on 46 horses, and in 40 of them, findings indicated large-colon and/or cecal distension.
• However, impactions, which are blockages, were palpable per rectum in only 7 horses. These results suggest that rectal palpation may not always accurately detect sand impactions, presenting a diagnostic challenge in such cases.

Surgery Findings and Results

• Despite the diagnostic challenges, emergency abdominal surgery was able to identify one or more impactions in 46 of the 48 equids.
• The most common finding was a single impaction located at the pelvic flexure – the sharpest bend in the large colon of horse.
• Twenty-six of the horses also had a concurrent large-colon torsion or displacement, conditions that can further complicate the removal of sand.
• A procedure called a pelvic flexure colotomy – a surgical opening into the colon at the pelvic flexure – was performed on 44 of the horses.
• The survival rate post-surgery was high, with 44 of the 48 treated animals surviving and successfully discharged.