Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
One-stage surgical case management of a two-year-old Arabian horse affected by male-pseudo hermaphroditism.
- Journal:
- Journal of equine veterinary science
- Year:
- 2024
- Authors:
- Pompermayer, E et al.
- Affiliation:
- Equine Veterinary Medical Center - Member of Qatar Foundation
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A two-year-old Arabian horse was brought in because of unusual external genitalia and aggressive stallion-like behavior. The horse was diagnosed with a disorder of sexual development (DSD), which means it had characteristics of both male and female anatomy. The veterinarians performed a one-stage surgery while the horse was sedated, which involved removing the abnormal gonads and reshaping the external genitalia to make it more functional and visually acceptable. The surgery went smoothly, and the horse recovered well, with the aggressive behavior disappearing within days. The owner was very satisfied with the results, and the horse was able to return to athletic activities after healing.
Abstract
A two-year-old Arabian horse presented for abnormal external genitalia and dangerous stallion-like behavior was diagnosed with disorder of sexual development (DSD), also known as intersex/hermaphroditism. Standing 1-stage surgical procedure performed under sedation, and local anesthesia to concurrently eliminate stallion-like behavior, risk of neoplastic transformation of intraabdominal gonads, and to replace ambiguous external genital with a functional, and cosmetically more acceptable anatomy. Step-1) Laparoscopic abdominal exploration and gonadectomy; Step-2) Rudimentary penis resection and perineal urethrostomy. The horse tolerated surgery well (combined surgery time 185 min) with no complications. At macroscopic examination of the gonads, they resembled hypoplastic testis-like tissues. Microscopic examination confirmed presence of seminiferous tubules, Leydig and Sertoli/granulosa cells. Cytogenetic evaluation revealed a 64,XX karyotype, SRY-negative. The stallion-like behavior subsided within days post-operatively. Long-term follow-up revealed the genitoplasty site healed without urine scalding or urethral stricture. The owner satisfaction was excellent and the horse could be used post-surgery as an athlete.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38237706/