Successful Management of a Penetrating Thoracic Injury in a Pony Filly

157 Thoracic injury in a filly INTRODUCTION Thoracic injuries are relatively uncommon in horses and may follow blunt or penetrating trauma (1). The most common cause of trauma is collision with an inanimate object (2). Equine thoracic trauma may require rapid emergency measures in order to save the horse from life-threatening complications such as pneumothorax, hemothorax, pleuritis, diaphragmatic hernia, and damage to the lungs, heart or blood vessels. Patient stabilization is the primary objective prior to deciding upon the course of treatment. Thorough evaluation, and determination of location and depth of the wound, must be performed. One must keep in mind that extra-thoracic injuries (e.g. abdominal, spinal) may occur in association with thoracic trauma (1). Deep wounds and those caudal to the sixth rib are more likely to involve the abdomen; moreover, horses with axillary wounds should be monitored for delayed respiratory distress until the wound has completely healed (2). Clinical findings are variable and may be associated with external thoracic injuries, which may cause muscle damage, blood vessel laceration, rib fracture and spinal trauma that in turn may lead to pain, shock or neurological signs. Those horses with internal thoracic trauma often present with respiratory distress. In addition, horses with concurrent abdominal trauma or diaphragmatic herniation may develop signs of colic (1, 2). True penetrating wounds of the thorax and/or abdomen carry a guarded prognosis due to possible complications such as pneumothorax, septic pleuritis, etc. (3, 4). In contrast, it was previously stated that a distinction should be made between penetrating thoracic injuries occurring alone and those with an additional extra-thoracic injuries, since the former carries a favorable prognosis (2). This report describes a case of a penetrating thoracic injury in a pony filly, the course of treatment and the long-term results.