incision | Horse Racing Free Tips

As with human surgery, there is always a potential for infection during equine surgery, Drs. Kelmer, Paz, Tatz, Dahan, Bdolah-abram and Oreff reviewed 198 post-operative complications related to surgery procedures on 167 horses at the Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Israel over a 15-month period.

The study reviewed 40 percent abdominal surgeries, 30 percent orthopedic surgery and the rest were general surgeries that had a 9 to 20 percent chance of developing a surgical site infection. The incidence of infection was 16.7 percent during the study period.

The study team noted that post-operative surgical site infections created difficulties with recovery, increased the length of stay in the hospital, increased client coats sand delayed return to work. It addition, surgical site infections caused an increase in equine morbidity and mortality.

Of all the surgeries performed, abdominal procedures had the highest risk of infection with 28 percent. This may be because of the length of the incision or the weight of the intestines on the incisions.

The scientists identified the following as factors that increase the risk for a surgical site infection:

Type of surgery.
Having a repeat surgery in less than 6 months in the same area or in an area near the original incision. Abdominal procedures are particularly at risk.
Weight of the horse. Heavier horses have more weight resting on the incision line in their abdomen.
Gender. In the study, only 2.3 percent of stallions developed infections, compared to 16.1 percent of geldings and 24.3 percent of mares; 50 percent of pregnant mares had surgical site complications.
Recovery from anesthesia. A horse that has a hard time recovering from anesthesia may increase his risk of infection development by four times.

Abdominal procedure infection rate ranges from 7 to 37 percent; arthroscopic surgery infection rate was less than 1 percent. Overall infection frequency in orthopedic procedures was around 10 percent.

The team found that other factors may amplify infection risk. These include time of day and season when the surgery takes place; the surgeon; and a horse's breed and age. They also note that as this study looked at cases between 2011 and 2013, surgical techniques, bacterial resistance and bacterial populations have changes, so additional studies are needed.

Read more at EquiManagement.

The post Abdominal Surgery Poses Greatest Risk Of Surgical Site Infection appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

A horse that requires surgical intervention for a bout of colic isn't out of the woods as soon as he come out of anesthesia. His recovery period can be fraught with complications as his abdominal muscles have been damaged: the surgeon must cut through them to access the origin of the pain. This incision will alter the function of the skeletal muscles.

Drs. Hillary Clayton and Narelle Stubbs of Michigan State University have developed a series of physical therapy exercises that can be completed after the horse's surgery is complete to help strengthen the horse's core and back muscles. Dubbed the core abdominal rehabilitation exercise (CARE) program, the rehabilitation begins 30 days post-surgery and recommends four weeks of in-hand strengthening exercises. These exercises include lumbar lifts and limbering exercises that ask the horse to move his chin to his withers, chest, knees and fetlocks.

A study was done to determine if the CARE program allowed horses to return to work or to competition more rapidly than not implementing rehabilitation exercises post-surgery. Owners of horses that had had colic surgery between 2008 and 2017 were given the option of taking part in the CARE program. Those owners who chose to engage their horse in the program received a manual, DVD and schedule to follow. Horses that were alive one year after the colic surgery were able to be included in the study.

There were 62 total horses used for the study; 11 horses had completed the CARE protocol and 51 did not complete the program. Researchers reviewed each horse's medical records and sent out surveys asking about the horse's post-op care and progress. Questions included for how long the horse was on stall rest after surgery as well as the timeline on surgery, the beginning of work and the return to full training and competition. They were also asked how the horse was performing one year after the surgery.

Results showed that horses that participated in the CARE rehab program returned to work more quickly: On average within 60 days while the control horses returned to work in 90 days. CARE horses returned to full work in 75 days, versus the control horse's 120 days it took to return to full work.

The researchers concluded that the CARE protocol is beneficial post-surgery, but that it may also be helpful during any recovery that includes long periods of rest for the horse.

Tag: incision

Abdominal Surgery Poses Greatest Risk Of Surgical Site Infection

Physical Therapy Returns Horses To Competition Ring More Rapidly