Surgeries at Columbia Equine Hospital
Our surgical suite is complete with a hydraulic table, gas anesthesia with positive pressure ventilation, blood pressure monitoring, EKG, padded induction and recovery room, climate control, and a wide variety of other medical and surgical equipment to make your horse's surgery as safe as possible. Surgical patients are hospitalized for monitoring and aftercare following any surgical procedure.
All non-emergent surgical patients will be admitted the day prior to the surgery, a full physical examination will be performed, and a full blood work panel (Complete Blood Count and Blood Chemistry) will be processed. These laboratory results are utilized to ensure the health and reduce the risk of your horse undergoing anesthesia for surgical procedures. Columbia Equine Hospital takes every precaution to ensure your horse’s safety.
Surgical Procedures at Columbia Equine Hospital
Our equine surgeons perform the following horse surgeries to help treat disease and conditions or to repair injuries sustained through trauma.
- Laceration Repairs—Laceration repair can be performed after external traumatic injury in horses. The most common cause of equine lacerations is due to accidental collisions with inanimate objects, kicking injuries associated with other animals or objects, or having the head or extremities in a precarious position while being startled.
- Castrations—We perform mature, immature, and cryptorchid castrations which is the removal of the testicles of a male horse. The procedure can be accomplished through sedation and local anesthesia in a standing position or through general anesthesia and the horse lying on its side.
- Enucleation—This is the removal of an eye. This surgery is sometimes necessary due to trauma or chronic disease. Removal of the eye resolves the horse's pain and the vast majority of horses do very well with a single eye.
- Dental Surgery—Dental surgeries refer to procedures that affect dental tissues or their supporting structures.
- Soft Tissue Surgery—Soft tissue surgery includes surgery of the abdomen, urogenital tract, respiratory tract, mouth, and skin.
