Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Horse fell after surgery and had intestines exposed - what happened
By Curtis, M B et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·1992·Department of Surgical Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Anesthetic management of an incisional dehiscence in recovery following exploratory laparotomy in a horse.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old Arabian mare had surgery to explore her abdomen, but when she was waking up from anesthesia, she fell and opened up her surgical incision, which caused some of her intestines to come out. The veterinary team quickly used medications and physical restraints to protect her intestines. They then put her under anesthesia again to clean and close the incision. During this second surgery, they faced some challenges, like low blood pressure and low oxygen levels, but she recovered well afterward. She was sent home and has not had any further issues since then.
Abstract
A 5-year old Arabian mare fell during recovery from general anesthesia after an exploratory laparotomy. This fall resulted in dehiscence of the abdominal closure, and a substantial amount of intestines were exteriorized. Chemical and manual restraints were rapidly used to prevent trauma to the exposed intestines. A second general anesthesia was initiated to clean the intestines and close the incision. Multiple anesthetic problems were encountered, including arterial hypotension and hypoxemia. The horse recovered from the second general anesthesia and surgery, and all complications gradually resolved. The horse was discharged and has not had further problems to date.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1568913/