Impaction of right dorsal colon in the horse: report of 32 cases

Acute as well as chronic and recurrent colic episodes were caused by right dorsal colon (RDC) impaction in 7.98% of all colic patients. Significantly higher statistical evidence was figured out in hucul horses, mares and 7-year-old animals. Diagnosis of RDC impaction was established on the basis of rectal palpation (68.75%) or laparotomy (31.25%). Yield of rectal palpation was limited by a difficult accessability of RDC, small body frame of the animal, severe abdominal pain and by further physiological or pathological changes in abdominal cavity. Simple RDC impaction was diagnosed in 16 (50%) of 32 cases, in 9 horses the impaction associated with the large colon displacement or torsion. In 4 horses also small colon impaction together with RDC impaction and in 3 horses impaction of another GIT part were found. Clinical signs of disease were influenced by these pathological findings. In two cases the diagnosis sand impaction was established during laparotomy. RDC impaction was treated conservatively in some patients (28.13%), however in most patients surgery was needed (65.63%). Conservative therapy was successful in the horses with short duration of disease and in cases, where the RDC impaction was the only pathological finding without associated complications. As indicators for surgery were chronic course of disease, high degree of general health alteration, severe abdominal pain with no reaction to analgesics, cases where the strangulation could not be excluded by rectal palpation or another lesions that cannot be treated conservatively and/or unsuccessful conservative therapy. The surgery was used in 21 cases (65.63%). 17 patients recovered from anestesia, 1 horse was destroyed in 14 days due to the repeated impaction. Complications, that were associated with surgery in the group of patients with RDC impaction, occur also during surgical treatment in all type of colic patients. In 2 mares the abortion occurred, in 3 horses the convalescence time have been complicated by diarrhoea, and in 1 horse by acute laminitis. Surgical wound infection was a cause of ventral hernia in 1 horse. 25 horses from all 32 cases hospitalised and treated either conservatively or surgically were passed to home care (78.12%). On the basic of obtained results there is possible to evaluate the prognosis in patients with acute and simple impaction as favourable and in patients in which the disease was complicated by further pathology as obscured. Chronic recurrent impaction was diagnosed repeatedly (3×) in one horse, that did not respond to the conservative treatment and surgery provided the only short time solution. Therefore the prognosis in this case was evaluated as not advanced.