ABDOMINAL-SURGERY IN FOALS - A REVIEW OF 119 CASES (1977-1994)

The case records of 119 young horses (all less than age one year) that underwent an exploratory celiotomy during a 17 year period were exami ned to determine the surgical findings, short- and long-term outcome, and prevalence of small intestinal disease compared to previous report s in the mature horse, Physical and laboratory values were compared fo r long-term survivors vs, nonsurvivors and the frequency of post opera tive intra-abdominal adhesions was determined, The most common cause f or exploratory celiotomy was small intestinal strangulation, followed by enteritis and uroperitoneum. Six horses died during surgery, 23 wer e subjected to euthanasia at the time of surgery due to a grave progno sis, and 17 horses died or were destroyed after surgery, prior to disc harge from the hospital; the short-term survival was 61%. Nine horses were lost to follow-up, Forty-one horses survived long-term (at least 6 months after surgery), 15 died or were subjected to euthanasia after discharge for reasons related to the prior abdominal surgery, and 8 d ied or were destroyed after discharge due to unrelated reasons, making the long-term survival 45%. Fifty-three (45%) of the horses presented as neonates, and 66 (55%) presented age 3-12 months, Uroperitoneum an d meconium impaction were the most common disease in the neonate, Intu ssusception and enteritis were the most common diseases in older foals , The overall prevalence of small intestinal disease was 44%, Signific ant elevations in packed cell volume, heart rate, nucleated cell count s and total protein in abdominal fluid and rectal temperature were obs erved in nonsurvivors compared to survivors, Nonsurvivors had signific antly decreased serum bicarbonate, chloride, sodium, and venous pH val ues, There was no evidence that location of the lesion affected long-t erm survival, Horses with a simple obstruction had a higher survival p ercentage than those with a strangulating obstruction, and horses that underwent an intestinal resection had a lower long-term survival than those horses undergoing only intestinal manipulation, Nineteen (33%) of the foals examined after the original surgery had evidence of intra -abdominal adhesions, Nine of these (16%) had adhesions that caused a clinical problem.