SURVEY OF DIPLOMATES OF THE AMERICAN-COLLEGE-OF-VETERINARY-SURGEONS REGARDING POSTOPERATIVE INTRAABDOMINAL ADHESION FORMATION IN HORSES UNDERGOING ABDOMINAL-SURGERY
Ll. Southwood et al., SURVEY OF DIPLOMATES OF THE AMERICAN-COLLEGE-OF-VETERINARY-SURGEONS REGARDING POSTOPERATIVE INTRAABDOMINAL ADHESION FORMATION IN HORSES UNDERGOING ABDOMINAL-SURGERY, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 211(12), 1997, pp. 1573-1576
Objective-To obtain information from specialists in equine surgery as
to prevalence of, predisposing factors for, and methods to prevent pos
toperative adhesion formation in horses undergoing abdominal surgery.
Design-Survey. Procedure-Surveys were mailed to 196 diplomates of the
American College of Veterinary Surgeons involved in equine practice. R
esults-60 (31%) surveys were returned. Most respondents (55/60) routin
ely informed clients of the risk of postoperative adhesion formation i
n horses with small intestinal lesions. When asked after which procedu
res they routinely used measures to prevent adhesions, 56 of 60 (93%)
indicated that they did after small intestinal resection and anastomos
is and 56 of 60 (93%) indicated that they did after any abdominal surg
ery in foals. The 4 methods most frequently listed when respondents we
re asked which methods were effective at preventing adhesion formation
were meticulous surgical technique, administration of antibiotics and
nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, intraoperative peritoneal lavag
e, and methods that prevent abdominal contamination. Most respondents
(50/60) thought that at least some horses with colic secondary to adhe
sion formation could be managed medically. Fifty-four (90%) respondent
s indicated that they were successful less than half of the time when
treating horses with adhesions severe enough to require additional sur
gery. Conclusion-In general, respondents thought that less than 15% of
horses undergoing abdominal surgery would develop adhesions, but that
horses with small intestinal disease and foals were most prone to dev
elop adhesions. Meticulous surgical technique was thought to be the mo
st important factor in preventing adhesions, and many prevention regim
ens reported to be effective in the literature were not commonly used
in practice.