Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Use of successive dynamic videoendoscopic evaluations to identify progression of recurrent laryngeal neuropathy in three horses.
- Journal:
- Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
- Year:
- 2007
- Authors:
- Davidson, Elizabeth J et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Clinical Studies · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
Three racehorses were checked out because they were not performing well or making unusual noises when breathing. During tests while they were exercising, two of the horses showed that their throat muscles were working properly, but one horse had some issues with one side of its throat. However, follow-up tests showed that all three horses had serious problems with the left side of their throats collapsing during exercise. Two of the horses were treated with a surgical procedure to help their throat function better and went on to race successfully, while the third horse was retired from racing.
Abstract
CASE DESCRIPTION: 3 racehorses were evaluated because of poor performance or abnormal noise originating from the upper portion of the respiratory tract. CLINICAL FINDINGS: During maximal exercise, initial dynamic videoendoscopy of the upper respiratory tract revealed complete arytenoid cartilage abduction in 2 horses and incomplete but adequate abduction of the left arytenoid cartilage in 1 horse. Subsequent exercising endoscopic evaluation revealed severe dynamic collapse of the left arytenoid cartilage and vocal fold in all 3 horses. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: 2 horses were treated with prosthetic left laryngoplasty and raced successfully. One horse was retired from racing. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Idiopathic laryngeal hemiplegia can be a progressive disease. Successive dynamic videoendoscopic upper airway evaluations were used to confirm progression of left laryngeal hemiplegia in these 3 horses. Videoendoscopy of the upper respiratory tract during exercise should be considered as part of the clinical evaluation of horses with signs of upper respiratory tract dysfunction.
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/17302556/