Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Upper esophageal incompetence in five horses after prosthetic laryngoplasty.
- Journal:
- Veterinary surgery : VS
- Year:
- 2015
- Authors:
- Barakzai, Safia Z et al.
- Affiliation:
- Chine House Veterinary Hospital · United Kingdom
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
This study looked at five horses that developed problems with their upper esophagus after a surgery called prosthetic laryngoplasty, which is meant to help with breathing. Four of these horses were checked with a camera and were found to have saliva leaking from their upper esophagus, while one horse had severe trouble swallowing two months after the surgery. All five horses coughed after the surgery, and two had severe coughing when they ate. The horse that had trouble swallowing was found to have a swollen esophagus and other muscle issues during a post-mortem examination. The findings suggest that the surgery may have caused damage to the muscles or nerves in the upper esophagus, leading to these complications.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe a complication observed endoscopically in horses after prosthetic laryngoplasty (LP). STUDY DESIGN: Case series. ANIMALS: Horses (n = 5) that had previous LP. METHODS: Four horses had endoscopic examination as part of a larger prospective study and had saliva emanating from their upper esophageal opening. One other horse was referred with clinical signs of severe upper esophageal obstruction 2 months after LP. RESULTS: Four horses were observed to have saliva emanating from their upper esophageal opening during endoscopic examination 21-58 months after LP. Esophageal reflux was noted endoscopically at rest (n = 1) and during exercise (4). All 5 horses were reported to cough postoperatively, and 2 horses coughed severely when eating. On necropsy, the horse referred with signs of esophageal obstruction had dilation of the proximal esophagus associated with food impaction and had fibrosis and thickening of the left cricopharyngeus and thyropharyngeus muscles. CONCLUSIONS: Iatrogenic damage to the caudal pharyngeal constrictor muscles, the intrinsic musculature of the upper esophagus, or their innervation, or damage to the peri-esophageal fascia or esophageal adventitia may cause upper esophageal incompetence in horses after LP.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24484183/