Surgical treatment of uterine torsion using a ventral midline laparotomy in 19 mares.

The research article focuses on evaluating the success rate of a surgical procedure called ventral midline laparotomy in treating uterine torsion in pregnant mares. The findings indicate that the approach results in a high percentage of maintained pregnancies, with mature, healthy foals born in 86.6% of cases.

Study Design and Methodology

• The research paper conducts a retrospective analysis of hospital records for pregnant mares that had undergone ventral midline laparotomy for uterine torsion between 1998 and 2004.
• Information about the mares’ health history, clinical signs, diagnostic results, direction and degree of uterine twist, as well as treatment and outcome was gathered from each case record.
• The sample size consisted of 19 mares that were between the 5th and 11th months of their pregnancy and were suffering from uterine torsion.
• All surgical treatments were performed under general anesthesia.

Key Findings

• Over half of the horses (52.6%) also had gastrointestinal disorders.
• Postoperative complications included occurrences of subcutaneous seromas in five mares, peritonitis in one mare, and abortion in two mares.
• Four mares (21%) didn’t survive the surgery, having to be euthanized either during or after the operation.
• Of the surviving 15 mares, 13 (86.6%) were able to give birth to healthy, viable foals at full term.
• Only two mares, out of the total 15 survivors, experienced abortion.

Conclusion and Recommendations

• The ventral midline approach was found to be versatile and beneficial for the correction of uterine torsion. Its advantages include rapid and clear access to the abdominal cavity, safety, visual evaluation of uterine wall viability, mitigating concurrent gastrointestinal tract issues, and implementing hysterotomy or hysterectomy if required.
• The research findings endorse the use of ventral midline laparotomy as an effective treatment for uterine torsion in pregnant mares, given its high success rate in maintaining pregnancies and enabling the birth of healthy foals. However, researchers have yet to confirm whether these findings would hold across larger sample sizes and varied environments.