Esophageal clearance in horses using an alternative surgical technique to esophagotomy

Abstract

Esophageal obstruction in horses can be associated with factors of primary (food impact) or secondary (tumors, abscesses) origin. Surgical treatment of primaries is generally performed with esophagotomy. However, it has a high incidence of stitch dehiscence, stenosis, and other post-surgical complications. This report aims to describe the surgical treatment, without esophagotomy, of esophageal obstruction caused by mango pit in a horse. The diagnosis was made using the association of history, physical examination, nasogastric tube, radiography, and endoscopy. Due to the impossibility of displacing the foreign body using a nasogastric tube, it was decided to perform a surgical procedure. With the animal in a station, sedated and under local anesthesia, the esophagus area was accessed through an incision in the cranial third of the ventrolateral cervical region. Above the obstruction site, 10 ml of 50% propylene glycol was injected into the organ's interior, cranial to the foreign body, aiming at lubrication. Next, successive milking movements were carried out in a cranial direction on the distal portion of the obstructed segment until it reached the oral cavity, which was manually removed. Five days after the procedure, the animal died, and necrotizing esophagitis, gastric ulcers, and aspiration pneumonia were observed. The surgical technique used is viable, but the prognosis regarding life and function depends on the duration of the obstruction, the occurrence of aspiration of contents, and the involvement of important organs.