HIGHLIGHTS
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Minimally invasive surgery types available Advanced diagnostic imaging Many procedures may be performed with the patient standing
Efficient respiration is particularly important in the equine athlete. Horses suffering from upper airway abnormalities may present with poor performance and a variety of other symptoms. Many conditions require surgical correction to restore athletic performance. Examples include the tie-back procedure for left laryngeal paralysis, the tie-forward procedure for intermittent dorsal displacement of the soft palate, and division (sharp or laser) of epiglottic entrapments. Some respiratory surgeries may be performed endoscopically with the use of a non-contact diode laser. Some sinus procedures may be performed using a small camera (sinoscopy) to avoid the need for larger open bone flap techniques. Recently, many advanced procedures such as nasal septum resection, bone flaps for sinus disease, and enucleation (removal) of the eye are being performed with the horse standing under sedation and regional anesthesia.
A variety of other surgical condition of the head and neck are performed. These surgeries vary widely in complexity from simple tooth extraction procedures, all the way to vascular intervention for emergency hemorrhage (such as that caused by fungal infection within the guttural pouch).
Recently, many advanced procedures such as nasal septum resection, bone flaps for sinus disease, and enucleation (removal) of the eye are being performed with the horse standing under sedation and regional anesthesia.
Digital x-ray showing intra-op positioning of a balloon catheter used to embolize the internal carotid artery of a horse bleeding from a fungal infection in the guttural pouch.
X-ray of a horse with a gunshot wound to the head, red arrow marks the bullet during retrieval, the black arrow marks the instrument being used to retrieve it.