Surgical repair of a full-thickness ear pinna defect in a horse

Equine Vet Educ. April 2022;34(4):e169-e175. 27 Refs

M D Cullen¹, A Ehrle, S C Willson, J M Wilmink, D C Archer

¹ School of Veterinary Science, Philip Leverhulme Equine Hospital, Leahurst, Neston, Cheshire, UK. matthew.cullen@liverpool.ac.uk

Author Abstract

A 5-year-old gelding used for showing was presented for surgical repair of a full-thickness 15 mm diameter defect in the right pinna, which had occurred as a delayed complication following laser excision of a sarcoid. The defect had resulted in progressive deformity of the ear, and the horse was considered at risk of further injury if the defect became entrapped on a fixed object. Two artificial dermis meshes were inserted to encourage the formation of granulation tissue across the defect, and a commercially available skin expander was implanted adjacent to the site. Eighteen days later, a second surgery was performed to remove the skin expander and to mobilise a local rotational skin flap to close the defect. Both surgeries were performed under standing sedation and local anaesthesia. The site healed well, avoiding further potential trauma to the ear and deformity due to tissue contracture at the site, although some deformation of the lateral aspect of the cartilage remained.

Keywords

horse, pinna, surgical repair, skin expander, rotation skin flap

Article Tools:

Email to me

Comments:

Comment In

Archives Highlights:

Investigation of maternal mortality and stillbirth in feline dystocia after emergency obstetric care interventions: a retrospective analysis.
Medical treatment was successful in 17% of patients, and 83% underwent surgical treatment for dystocia. Ovariohysterectomy (59%) was the most common surgical method, followed by conservative caesarean section (35%).

Use of Dog Serologic Data for Improved Understanding of Coccidioidomycosis: A One Health Approach.
The overall seropositivity rate among tested dogs was 37.6%. Average test positivity rates in states with =0.5 tests per annum per 10,000 households were 35.4% (Texas) to 74.1% (Montana). For these states, average annual incidence per 10,000 households was as follows: Arizona (86.8), New Mexico (0.89), Nevada (0.78), California (0.75), Montana (0.63), Colorado (0.41), Oregon (0.41), Texas (0.38), Idaho (0.37), Wyoming (0.34), Utah (0.32), and Washington (0.26). Human incidence in California and Arizona between 2012 and 2022 was significantly correlated with dog incidence.

Canine distemper outbreak and laryngeal paralysis in captive tigers (Panthera tigris).
All suspected and confirmed cases of CDV infections were significantly associated with laryngeal inflammation, which developed into paralysis in almost 50% of cases. Altogether, 50% of all tiger cases with chronic infection developed stridor at 314 days after virus infection. Therefore, laryngeal paralysis may result from CDV infection and degeneration, potentially affecting the peripheral and central nervous systems. This condition could pose a life-threatening risk to tigers.

Adjuvant Chemotherapy Is Associated With Prolonged Survival Time in Small-Breed Dogs Undergoing Amputation for Appendicular Osteosarcoma.
The median time to distant progression for all dogs was 265 days, with no significant difference between treatment groups. The median overall survival for all dogs was 270 days, and it was significantly different between amputated dogs (150 days) and those also receiving adjuvant chemotherapy (353 days). In our cohort, osteosarcoma in small breeds behaved as aggressive as in large breeds.

Investigating the relationship between canine training classes and post-adoption return rates in North American shelters
Of all the returned dogs, those who attended training were more likely to be returned for owner-related reasons (58.8?%), whereas dogs who did not attend training were more likely to be returned for animal-related reasons (78.9?%). While attending training classes at animal shelters may help to reduce behavioral returns, as shown by the shift in return reasons, they do not appear to reduce return rates significantly for the general shelter population.