EQUINE | Proceedings
Large Intestine
Diseases of the large intestine are commonly responsible
for horses undergoing colic surgery. Approximately one
third to over half of surgical colic cases are due to dis-
ease of the large intestine. In a study modelling survival
of horses following surgery for large intestinal disease
the 3 most prevalent diagnoses were non-strangulating
torsion of the large colon, strangulating torsion (>360°
of rotation) and nephrosplenic entrapment, which com-
prised 23, 20 and 17% of all cases, respectively (Proud-
man et al. 2005). Non operative risk factors found to be
associated with reduced survival in this study included
signs of cardiovascular compromise (increased pre-op-
erative heart rate, increased pre-operative PCV), and in-
creasing age. Intra-operative risk factors included resec-
tion of the large colon and repeat laparotomy.
Large Colon Torsion (greater than or equal to 360 de-
grees)
Large colon volvulus (LCV) is one of the most painful and
rapidly fatal causes of colic in the horse and represents
between 10 and 20% of horses with colic that undergo
exploratory laparotomy (Tinker et al. 1997). Volvulus
greater than or equal to 360 degrees has been found to
be strongly associated with poor survival (Kaneene et al.
1997).
In a study providing data on the long-term survival of
horses with strangulating LCV and identifying pre, intra
and post-operative variables associated with survival, it
was reported that 76.7% of horses recovered from an-
aesthesia (Suthers 2013). Of those horses that survived
anaesthesia, 70.8% survived to discharge, 48.3% sur-
vived to one year and 33.7% survived to two years.
Factors associated with reduced long-term survival were
signs of cardiovascular compromise (increasing pre-op-
erative PCV), bnormal serosal colour of the large colon
intra-operatively, increasing heart rate at 48 hours post-
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operatively and signs of colic during the post-operat