Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser ablation of a urethral web to relieve urinary outflow obstruction in a horse.
- Journal:
- Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
- Year:
- 2001
- Authors:
- Blikslager, A T et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Clinical Sciences · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
An 8-year-old Hanoverian gelding was having trouble urinating, which included dribbling urine. During a check-up, the vet noticed some issues with the horse's left hind leg and found that part of the urethra (the tube that carries urine) was swollen. They discovered two areas of tissue blocking the urethra, one of which was preventing the vet from reaching the bladder with a camera. Using a special laser technique, the vet removed the tissue, and six months later, they found that the horse could urinate better, although it still dribbled urine sometimes. Overall, the laser treatment worked well and was a good choice for this horse's condition.
Abstract
An 8-year-old Hanoverian gelding was examined because of urine dribbling and urethral obstruction. Mild proprioceptive deficits of the left hind limb were evident during neurologic examination. Ultrasonography per rectum revealed dilatation of the pelvic portion of the urethra. Endoscopy of the urethra revealed 2 webs of tissue: 1 was located 10 cm proximal to the external urethral opening; the other was located 65 cm proximal to the external urethral opening and prevented passage of the endoscope into the urinary bladder. The mass was ablated with a neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser, using a transendoscopic noncontact technique. On follow-up examination 6 months after laser surgery, an endoscope could easily be passed into the bladder, and no urethral web was seen. The horse was able to void a stream of urine but continued to dribble urine intermittently. The proximal location of the urethral lesion in this horse would have made use of traditional surgical methods problematic, whereas transendoscopic laser photoablation was easy and effective.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11417744/