The management of rectal tears in horses.
Abstract: Rectal trauma in horses is usually iatrogenic and carries a high mortality. Partial thickness tears heal without surgical assistance. Full thickness tears require surgical repair through the anus or a ventral laparotomy or, if these are not possible because of difficulty in gaining access to the tear in its usual site at the pelvic inlet, a diverting colostomy to allow the rectum to heal is necessary. This paper describes the management of 15 cases of rectal injury, only 3 of which survived. Two of these were partial thickness tears not treated surgically and the third had a temporary diverting colostomy.
Publication Date: 1980-07-01 PubMed ID: 7436935DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.1980.tb05735.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research paper discusses the treatment and survival rates of horses with rectal tears, indicating that surgical intervention is necessary for full thickness tears, with only three out of fifteen cases surviving.
Understanding the Issue
- Rectal trauma in horses is most often caused by medical procedures and has a high mortality rate. Dealing with this issue is thus a major concern in equine veterinary practice.
- In partial-thickness tears, where the injury does not go all the way through the rectal wall, healing generally occurs without needing surgical intervention.
- However, in full-thickness tears where the injury goes completely through the wall, surgical repair is necessary. This presents significant challenges due to the difficulty of accessing the injury site.
Surgical Methods
- There are typically two surgical approaches to repairing full-thickness rectal tears: repair through the anus or a ventral laparotomy, which involves making an incision in the abdominal wall to access the injured area.
- If these approaches are not possible, a diverting colostomy may be performed, where a new opening is created for stool to pass out of the body, thus allowing the injured rectum to heal.
Study Results
- The research paper delves into the management of 15 cases of rectal injury in horses, of which only three survived.
- Two of the surviving cases had partial-thickness tears and did not need surgical intervention. Their successes provide some optimism for the management of such injuries.
- The third survivor had a temporary diverting colostomy, which sheds positive light on this method as a viable alternative when the traditional surgical approaches are not feasible.
Overall Understanding
- The research presents important findings for veterinary practitioners in managing rectal injuries in horses. The significant challenges in treatment and the generally low survival rate highlight the necessity for continual research and improvement in this area of veterinary medicine.
Cite This Article
APA
Speirs VC, Christie BA, van Veenendaal JC.
(1980).
The management of rectal tears in horses.
Aust Vet J, 56(7), 313-317.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-0813.1980.tb05735.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Colostomy / veterinary
- Female
- Horse Diseases / surgery
- Horse Diseases / therapy
- Horses
- Iatrogenic Disease / surgery
- Iatrogenic Disease / therapy
- Iatrogenic Disease / veterinary
- Intestinal Mucosa / injuries
- Male
- Rectum / injuries
- Wounds, Penetrating / surgery
- Wounds, Penetrating / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 3 times.- Malberg JA, Webb BT, Hackett ES. Colonic gastrointestinal stromal tumor resulting in recurrent colic and hematochezia in a warmblood gelding. Can Vet J 2014 May;55(5):471-4.
- Wilson DG, Stone WC. Antimesenteric enterotomy for repair of a dorsal rectal tear in a mare. Can Vet J 1990 Oct;31(10):705-7.
- Lallemant M, Kadiakhe T, Chambert J, Lejeune A, Ramanah R, Mottet N, Jacquet E. In vitro biomechanical properties of porcine perineal tissues to better understand human perineal tears during delivery. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 2024 Jul;103(7):1386-1395.
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