Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Diaphragmatic hernia repair in three young horses.
- Journal:
- Veterinary surgery : VS
- Year:
- 1997
- Authors:
- Santschi, E M et al.
- Affiliation:
- Peterson and Smith Equine Hospital · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
This report looks at three young horses that had a condition called diaphragmatic hernia, which caused part of their intestines to get trapped and twisted. They all showed signs of stomach pain, and during surgery, the damaged part of the intestine was removed, and the hernia was repaired with stitches. After the surgery, all three horses recovered well and were able to race again, showing no difference in performance compared to their siblings. While one horse later died from colic at age 5, the cause was not clear, and the other two horses are now healthy broodmares, having had several foals without any signs of the hernia returning. Overall, the treatment was successful.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This clinical report describes surgical correction of diaphragmatic hernia in three young horses. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective investigation of medical records and subsequent racing performance. ANIMALS: Three young horses with diaphragmatic hernia. RESULTS: Three young horses with signs of abdominal pain had diaphragmatic hernia causing small intestinal strangulation. The strangulated small intestine was resected and an end-to-end jejuno-jejunal (two horses) or a side-to-side jejuno-cecal anastomosis (one horse) was performed. Diaphragmatic hernias were closed with a continuous suture pattern. All horses recovered and raced. No difference in race records was found between the subject horses and their siblings. One subject horse died of colic at 5 years of age, but the cause of the colic was undetermined. The remaining two horses are in use as broodmares and have produced multiple foals without recurrence of signs of diaphragmatic hernia. CONCLUSIONS: Diaphragmatic hernias can be repaired in horses. These horses can achieve race records similar to their siblings and can produce foals without recurrence of signs of diaphragmatic hernia.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9150563/