Chronic infection of guttural pouches

[brighteyes]

Has anyone had any experience of treatment for this - namely guttural pouch flushing? I have a pony suffering from secondary infection following an upper respiratory tract problem which she seemed to clear in a few days. She is bright, lively and her normal self apart from an occasional smelly discharge from one nostril. She coughs up a small quantity of semi solid pus every now and again and x-rays show at least one pouch is full of solid matter. Intenet info on this is encouraging, but the vet is sucking his teeth an awful lot. He has referred us to Leahurst and I'm dreading the worst as this condition is supposed to be notoriously bad to clear up. An added problem is she's only 12 hands and 26 years old - although you'd never believe it. She's extremely precious to me and any advice from experience you might have had which could help me would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dougie]

he will be reffering you as he will be unable to do it, most vets struggle as it is difficult to 'get into' the gutteral piuches. basicall they will use a scope to guide the probe into gutteral pouches, flush them with sainle, then use a gellatine mix which is left in there. not that big a procedure she should be fine. might need sedated each time but wont do her any harm

 

[brighteyes]

I'm hoping it's not too big a deal for her and that we'll soon be back to normal. My vet's endoscope was too large and they confirmed the diagnosis using x-rays. I know it's a bit of a lengthy business and maybe I'll be able to do some of the nursing myself. Just want to get on with it now. Thanks for the positive and encouraging reply.

 

[Dougie]

it wont be a that big a deal for her as she will be sedated, unless she is very good. the fact that your vet cant do gutteral pouch washes doesnt make him a bad vet, many vets cant do it as they arent shown how to. let us know how she gets on.

 

[GTs]

I have seen this done a number of times, it really is not difficult to do, or painful/stressful for the horse - you just need the right equipment. I also doubt they will sedate your horse, we sedate so few who we scope.

They will probably leave a catheter in there, and flush it a couple times a day, till it is thoroughly clean.

Really do not worry, I would say it is on the same level as x-rays - just more people are familiar with them.

 

[Dougie]

GT to flush the gutteral pouch can be difficult!! yes it probably will be sedated as its lightly more than scoping!! doubt a catherter will be leeft in

 

[GTs]

I have seen many gps flushed without any sedatives - maybe you guys sedate more horses then we do out here, we rarely sedate any horses unless they are being a wingnut.

The horses with an infection at our hospital stay a few days, and the catheter is left in and the gp is flushed twice a day - then rescoped and reviewed. If the horse goes home that day, ofcourse they will not leave it in.

 

[brighteyes]

Thanks GT , that's even better news. Are you a vet and where's 'out here' btw? Very kind regards, B.

 

[GTs]

Over here is California, not a vet - but have been volunteering at the local equine hospital and have observed a lot, including this (many times)!!

 

[CBFan]

I know of someone with a 32 Year old pone who suffered from this - she point blank refused to let him go and have it flushed at his age - too traumatic and he probably wouldn't have made it... Instead he had a huge course of antibiotics... the vet warned it might not totally clear up and might come back etc but a year and a half later, he's still with us and going strong (still ridden!)... Something else to consider maybe???

 

[Happy Horse]

Cheesy guttural pouches were always one of my favourites! The reason that your pony has been referred I am sure is because there is a wopping great big artery that can be caught when poking around in the guttural pouch so the vet needs to be very experienced! This is also the reason that the pony is likely to be sedated for the procedure - a sudden movement with a catheter in place can also be bad news! I would imagine they will want to culture some of the pus from the pouch to identify a suitable antibiotic and then regular flushing. It is a difficult area to treat but by no means impossible. Let us know how you get on.

 

[brighteyes]

Wouldn't mind havin a chat with your friend, just to make sure the condition is the same. My pony's gp's are full of rubbish (shown on x-ray) and antibiotics, as you say her vet warned, probably won't touch the contents. At the mo, she's got no symptoms but I gather the smelly discharge will come and go. At least she swabbed negative for any strangles bugs.... Playing the waiting game while my vets formulate the next plan of action. Thanks so much for posting. b.

 

[brighteyes]

Surely will HH. You are bang on with the post, though I wonder why cgp's were always one of your favourites! I'm resigned to being in for the long haul and know there are no guarantees. My vets couldn't even get in the gp with their scope.

 

[Happy Horse]

I loved anything gross! Pussy sinuses, ethmoid haematomas, ganky wounds I was the girl for the job. Much more fun than all the fancy orthopaedic stuff

The surgeons couldn't understand it either!

 

[brighteyes]

Recently drained a sublingual abscess - messy but satisfying. See what you mean, as long as the outcome is a good one......