I stumbled upon a video of a Standing Colic Surgery.

Huh?

I had never heard of that.

Standing colic surgery had to be less expensive than knocked out and on a table surgery… and it had to be less invasive as well as more tolerable and easier to recover.

If standing colic surgery was a good idea and available, why aren’t more surgeons using it?

For me, if standing colic surgery was an option, more horses would be saved in the field… …Ultrasound to find the mass, numb the horse, hold on and dig in with a wing and a prayer because most of the time, that is all you’ve got with colic.

A HUNCH A WING AND A PRAYER VIDEO OF STANDING COLIC SURGERY

This is the (what I’ve called) the “A hunch a wing and a prayer” video of standing colic surgery that I stumbled upon earlier today – which made me think about this topic.

What I loved about it was the Cowboy “Get in there and get it done” mentality.

What I didn’t like was that it seemed thrown together and not well thought out.

But, it worked!  And, the horse survived.

Note for those of you who don’t watch the video – the vet stuck her hands in there and massaged the mass away.  She opened the horse, stuck her whole hand in there, found the culprit and squeezed it until it broke apart and headed down stream.

I was amazed and cheering!

You, go, gurl!  If my horse had a horrible mass that wouldn’t move and my vet decided to cut her open then and there to make the bad thing go away – Yahoo!  The less time suffering, the less time recovering.

Warning:  If you are not good at watching surgery, don’t look at this.  However, it isn’t very gory…  But, there is blood.

THE PROS

–The horse is standing… You don’t have to worry about injury during the wake-up period.

–Faster recovery after surgery, could go home sooner.

–Should be less expensive than table surgery

–Could work in the field.

–Could work in an Emergency when you only have a hunch a wing and a prayer.

THE CONS

Well, I didn’t find too many articles to research this… but the one I did find was not too keen on standing colic surgery for a few reasons:

–When a horse is on a tilted table, all of his organs slide away from the incision point.

–During a table surgery, the horse is asleep and the team bloats his abdomen so the incision points are easily created – like cutting into a melon instead of soft, pliable tissue.

–The muscles of the abdomen are difficult to stitch closed.  Having a smaller incision is good.

–When the horse is on the table, surgeons can look around for the mass – if they hadn’t been able to pinpoint it earlier.

AN ARTICLE ABOUT LAPAROSCOPIC STANDING COLIC SURGERY

In this article, the DRs speak about using a laparoscopy tool for standing colic surgery.

Hmmmm.  I’m sure is better than using one’s hand and stitching with a hook and thread (like in the above video).

But, it took 4 hours!

As you could see by the video – cutting, inserting hand, massaging mass and sewing – took about 8 minutes.  Give or take.

Here is the article:

 

ANY VETS OUT THERE?  PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!

NEW BUCKET FUNDING IDEA FOR DECEMBER!

A reader sent a box of her brand new grooming and tack equipment because she IS no longer going to get the horse she had dreamed about for so long… sad.   She wanted to turn the bad into good so she donated her items for the Bucket Fund and to give to needy equine rescue establishments.

Tahoe Cowboy Tack Floral basket-weave on the breast collar and headstall.  The split reins are double stitched and plain – no design.  *The headstall is a bit darker (caramel) than the breast collar and reins (natural). 

New with Tags:  Breast collar, Headstall, Split reins

ALL THREE (includes shipping):  $99

PROCEEDS GO TO THE BUCKET FUND:   Buy this brand new set for $99 including shipping!  (Retails over $165)

  If you receive this blog via email, click here to purchase!

 

 

*If the link doesn’t work, the set has sold.