Equine Surgical Procedures Flashcards
Equine standing surgery procedures often done to treat
lacerations, traumatic injuries, endoscopy of upper respiratory tract
General anesthesia (recumbent procedures) for equine
castration, abdominal (colic)
What is the single largest risk factor of general anesthesia for equine
recovery
What equine patients are standing surgery beneficial to
sick, debilitated, or elderly
drawbacks of standing surgery for equine
-surgeon comfort
-surgeon’s visualization of sx field
-difficult to maintain sterile field
-the patient can move
Equine patient prep for standing surgery
-withhold grain for 12 hours
-withhold hay for 2-6 hrs
-water is not withheld
What is must the location entail for equine standing surgery
clean, quiet place, dusty and draft free
Local anesthetics often used for equine analgesia
nerve blocks, field blocks, epidural anesthesia
What is a field block
“line blocks”; no specific nerve is blocked but the local anesthetic placed in skin/SQ
Where is needle inserted for epidural anesthesia
in first intercoccygeal space
Epidural anesthesia provides analgesia of
tail, perineum, anus, rectum, vulva, vagina
Reasons for castration
-prevents repoduction
-improves unmanageable dispositions/aggression
-stops conformation disease (cryptorchids)
-may increase or decrease horse value
General anesthesia for cryptorchidism
long-acting IV or gas inhalant
Routine castration is done from age _ to _ months
12-24
Anesthesia for routine standing castration
-tranquilizers
-local anesthetics, directly into the testicles and the spermatic cord using a long 18g-20g needle
Anesthesia for routine castration in recumbent animals
-triple drip combo of GKX
-Ketamine (after sedation w/ an alpha 2)
Prep for castration
-confirm tetanus vax
-tie legs out the way and hold head down for recumbent animals
-no clipping or shaving necessary
-sx scrub
In the field, a _ area is preferred over a dirt area
grassy
In a castration, the vessels are either ,, or _
crimped, twisted, or ligated (tied)
What is closed castration
spermatic cord and vaginal tunic are emasculated. greater chance that a vessel will emasculate improperly for this procedure; more bleeding
Post op care of castration
-check for hemorrhaging for several hrs after
-stall rest 24hrs, then exercise twice/day until healed
-recheck site for 1 week
-rinse w/ hose PRN
-separate from other horses
-fly control
-no meds needed
Complications of castration
-severe hemorrhaging
-excessive swelling from inadequate drainage
-acute wound infection and septicemia
-protrusion of abdominal viscera
-persistent masculine behavior
After castration, it takes at least _ days for testosterone levels to drop
30
Reasons for caslick procedure (Pneumovagina repair)
prevents involuntary aspiration of air into the vagina
Causes of pneumovagina
poor conformation, injury, breeding, foaling
Horses that need caslick
-old thin mares with sunken anuses
-racing mares that aspirate air
-breeding mares
-mares foaling
The following is prep for _ procedure:
-confirm tetanus vax
-remove feces from rectum
-tail bandage
-scrub region and rinse thoroughly
-use nonirritating scrub and 4x4 gauze
Caslick
Anesthesia for caslick
tranquilization, local anesthesia: vulva region
Post op care of caslick procedure
-remove sutures in 7-10 days
-leave area alone until healed
-check periodically to make sure sutures and skin intact
Complications of caslick post op
-sutures torn out
-too much tissue removed (hard to close); must be opened before parturition or breeding
