Colic surgery

S

Shilasdair

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I'm just curious.
Has your horse had colic surgery - and if so what was your experience?
Was it successful?
How long did the horse survive for post operatively?
And do you think you made the right decision?
S :D
 
My friends horse had colic surgery at age 15. Took a year before he was back in full work. He is still alive now (in his 20's). Yes I think in his case it was the right decision.
 
I had one that had colic surgery over 20 years ago, he survived the op. but then had to have further surgery to drain fluid that would not disperse, he survived the second op. but was then unresponsive so taken out for a pick of grass before being pts. Instant improvement !!

He made a slow but full recovery, came back into full work, only low key RC level but that was all he was anyway, he was 11 years old at the time of the op. he started to have minor colics several years later, and was about 22 when he suffered another major colic, the vet felt it was probably breakdown of scar tissue and he was then pts.

In his case it was worth it, he was insured, he was still young ,had a life after surgery and he was a tough,little Irish horse that was never going to be sold on.
A few things re. management, trial and error rather than vet advice, they do best if on grass as much as possible, soft hay [hard fibrous hay caused mild colics] and soaked type feeds.
They seem to have some problems digesting at times, I also had a pony that had previously had surgery so learnt how to manage them.
 
The horse I had on part-loan a few years ago had colic surgery. He had a bad impaction and had to have a section of gut removed. He came home and was on box rest for 2 months. He seemed fine in himself and became increasingly lively on his walks - he loved his daily 'allowance' of grass! He then started going out in the field and a couple of days later he was found dead in his stable. Apparantly he looked very peaceful - no signs of thrashing about - so hopefully it was quick. His owner decided not to have a post mortem so we'll never know whether it was related to the surgery or not. Personally I think it probably was, as he was only 10 and there was no indication of anything else wrong with him. Obviously, it wasn't my decision to make, but I think his owner did the right thing. He was subdued for a few days after coming home but was soon back to his normal happy self. I saw him the night before he died. He hadn't come in from the field yet but he left the grass to come see me and he had some cuddles and carrots before I left. He was thoroughly content and I do not think he was in any pain. He was such a lovely boy and shouldn't have died so soon but I'm glad he had those extra weeks.
 
The only horse I know that had colic surgery had a very tough time from the having to endure a long time being box-rested. He did recover, but he wasn't the same horse he had been prior to the surgery. I think the box-rest completely changed his character and he was very bad tempered. I suppose it could have been that he had some ongoing low-grade pain resulting from the surgery, but certainly if one of my own horses needed surgery that would mean a long time being box rested I would now think twice.
 
I have ben at the same yard fior 18 years, and in that time only one horse has had colic surgery, so very limited experience. That horse live another 2 years, but was put to sleep after another episode when the vet could not save her.
 
Had a friend's pony that had colic. They operated, but when they opened the pony up it was full of tumours and they had to PTS on operating table. Surgery was $7 000 AUD and no pony.

Another old horse at pony club had colic, the vet that was there qouted a minimum $5 000 AUD for sugery with a 50% chance of success. The owners decided against it, he pulled through but it was touch and go.

Most people in Australia would not have insurance for vet bills, so effectively, self insured.
 
Not mine but friends had colic surgery. Survived but did have mild bouts of colic afterwards if not 100% managed but was in full work doing a bit of everything. Unfortunatley a few years later he then broke his leg and had to be PTS
 
My two competition horses were both lost to colic type symptoms :(

My mare was always a colicy mare since I bought her at 4 but one afternoon she started colicing and I knew straight away it was worse than usual :(
She was in a complete mess the medication did not help and was getting worse, the vet suggested to pts as I could buy another horse with my insurance money :eek:
She did pull through op, it turned out she had a strangulated hernia, but she looked awful had many eposides of colic and it was heartbreaking to watch for first 8 weeks
She then then picked up and looked better than ever started getting back into work :)

Then one morning I was called by YO to get down to the yard again the colic symptoms was like that afternoon I knew that was it for her, vet give her injection at 9am by 10 I was pleading with vet to come and pts, finally she pts 5.30 although she was nearly gone any way, tons of arguments all day with vet practice and my YO got involved it was something I always said I would never put another through colic sugery again she was 8 when pts so not old at all.

My big lad was also 8 when he started colicing always been fit and healthy, vets gave me an option of pts or sugery with 50% chance of recovery, I opted for pts I could not put another through that again :(
 
Our little one had colic surgery on the 10/10/10, she had been made an orphan in the August and was bareley 6 months old when she had the surgery, in hindsight because we lost her mum to "colic symptoms" we felt pressured not to loose her.

The surgery wound then formed a hernia which on the 23rd December 2010 became infected so she had further surgery to repair, this repair didn't work, so she grew a larger hernia which wasn't really causing her any problems but was a risk of causing a pinch in her intestines or damage. So we waited until the beginning of October this year to avoid infection from flies and to make sure she had the healthiest of tissue to enable a sucessful repair, she underwent another operation to repair the hernia.

On Sunday 16th October, she didn't look right and the spasms of colic started. We went through 3 dreadful days and had the vet out 3 times to put her to sleep - each time she perked up, surgery was not an option as it would have meant going through through the repaired wound site and having the same issues as before.

It would have been easy to put her in the lorry and subject her to more surgery although it would have most likely have caused her more problems and would have probably resulted in putting her to sleep away from her stable mate. So I've done both with her and know more than most what the complications and risks are to surgery - I've also had months of sleepless nights listening for something being wrong, being paranoid about what to feed, how much water has been drunk and what poo's are like.

I'm lucky, my horses live at home and I have stables with electric and water, I can actually see 3 of the 5 from my bedroom window.

I also made the decision to have Arkadia's mum not have surgery and Mistletoe who left us almost a year to the day ago also not to have surgery - these decisions were made easy by their age - Izzy was 19 and Mistletoe in her 40's.

With anything that now presents with colic, remembering it is a symptom not a cause, I would seriously consider not having surgery and without causing too much distress simply saying goodbye. Having been through what I have I would also suggest that others do the same. The surgery itself is such a small part of the recovery and unless you are very sure you can prevent it another time are you really sure?

Sorry Shils its a very raw subject and I see so many posts about people saying their horse has colic and should they call the vet! I wait to be shot down for not giving her the 4th operation - there is also a post on here regarding bankrupting yourself - we ran out of insurance after the 1st operation!! I now have no horse and very large £'000's to pay and another 5 horses to consider!
 
My horse is covered for up to 7k for colic surgery but I don't know if I would do it...

My late horse died of colic. she had colic episodes since I got her at 5 and always was better after a few hours and medication. Then she got it really badly aged 9 and was admitted into hospital, she was in there for nearly a week and was on a drip but she managed to pull through with it being treated medically.
Then about 6 weeks after coming home she got it again. Bad this time, I knew it was the end. She went into hospital they tried to treat it medically again but it got worse. She was operated on and had to be PTS on the table as she had terrible damage to her colon from worms, she had not been wormed as a youngster I think and her card had been marked before I even got her :(. In hindsight obviously if I knew she would never have made it I would have PTS at the beginning of the 2nd bad time but I didn't did I.

My mums horse died of colic this summer. We spotted him colicing in the evening and he was taken straight to hospital. They tried to treat it medically for a few hours but it wasn't working. He went in for surgery and was PTS as he had ruptured already. The vets thought he must have been colicing mildly for a couple days before but he was totally normal as far as we could see. They did a post mortem but nothing could be found for causing the colic, he was in perfect health so the vet put it down to perhaps stress or some new grass coming through or something :( :(.

What i've learnt is that the vets don't really know what is going on untill they open them up by which time it may be too late.

If my horse didnt respond medically i'm not sure I could put him through surgery knowing what I know and having had the experiences I have had. From what iv'e heard they are never really the same horse again and their digestive systems are so fragile. I think you are very lucky if you have a horse that survives colic surgery, has a smooth recovery and continues on in full work for the rest of a long healthy life. I think it puts them through a lot of stress just for them to perhaps colic again later on down the line.

It's a very touchy subject for me also. None of us have a crystal ball to predict the outcome of trying to treat it medically by which time its too late for surgery or taking them in to theatre straight away.

Very hard :( :( :(.
 
Yes my boy had a flipped secum (sp)
He was uninsured but only 9 so we decided it was worth a go.
Surgery went well but he paniced in the recovery room and tore his wound open. Only option then was more surgery to mend the stitching. The second time in the recovery room the lovely staff decided to stay with him to avoid him worrying but unfortunately he was unable to stand and had to be pts
Worst experience of my life would never ever do it again. Did lots of research on the surgery itself but didn't once worry about the recovery room :-( Lesson learnt
 
My 22 year old pony coliced in October last year, we'd had him since being a 3 y.o. and this was the first colic episode he had ever had. I heard him thrashing about in his stable at about 1am and the vet was with us by 1.30am and he was at the hospital by 2.30am where he was operated on and a strangulating lipoma was found. He had part of his gut removed and looked very bright the next day so we were hopeful.

However after 2 days he started to look uncomfortable again and it was obvious something was wrong. After many tears and discussions with the vet I travelled to the hospital to be there with him when he was PTS but when I got there I just couldn't do it, he still looked bright and so we went ahead with a second surgery where they found that the gut which had been reattached has not been done properly and had kinked causing a blockage. This was repaired and he came home two weeks later.

The wound was sutured with metal wires and bits of plastic and it did get pretty infected but he was so with letting us clean it etc. Over the next few months he had times where he looked uncomfortable and we got the vet out who gave him a sedative which seemed to work but in January he coliced again and despite the vet trying everything and spending almost the whole afternoon and evening at our house we couldn't make him comfortable and he had to be PTS. We ended up with a vet bill of £9,500 (luckily we had insurance for £5k of it and the vets knocked £1k off as a goodwill gesture).

With hindsight I do regret putting him through the surgery but althought he was an older pony he was fit and healthy and being ridden regularly. I felt that I owed it to him to try and if I hadn't I think I would have always have regretted not trying. I miss him so much still. I hope I never have to make the decision about colic surgery again as I have no idea what I would do.
 
In 2006, my 'horse of a lifetime' had colic aged 19, for the first time in the 15 years I'd owned him. It was obviously serious, vet gave usual painkillers etc- but no response, so rushed him off to Arundel (about 1½ away), hoping he would be better when we got there. He wasn't, so opted for surgery. Having initially colicked at 8.30 pm, he was on the table by 3 am. 4½ hours later, I got the call to say he'd come through surgery okay. He had a fatty lipoma growing on a stalk that had wrapped round his small intestine, also his caeceum was displaced. So 3 metres of small intestine removed and caeceum righted.
I spent every spare minute sitting with him at the hospital, he was completely unfazed by the whole experience and was back to his usual bitey self in a couple of days. His aftercare was quite unusual compared to what seems to be the trend lately. He was walking round the car park within days and after 10 days in hospital was home. Was warned beforehand that he could lose up to 100 kgs in weight with the stress etc. He was weighed for the op at 612kg, 10 days later was 628kg - amazingly had put ON 16kg. No belly band or similar dressings - just 35 staples and wound left uncovered. Was on walker 3 times a day, 20-30 mins a time. Progressed to lunging over next few months, trotting then cantering, building up very gradually. Turned out in pen for increasing periods daily. Was back riding after about 4 months. I installed an IP camera in his stable so I could monitor him 24/7.

He's now 24 - its 5 years since the surgery on 30thNov/1st Dec and I treasure every single extra moment I've had with him. I think a lot depends on a horses attitude - he's always been an opinionated little sod. He almost enjoyed the stay in hospital - was in Box No 1, right in the entrance of course and clearly thought that all the attention he got was no more than he deserved.

I dread it happening again, but as the vets said - all horses have lipomas, so it could happen to him again today - or one of the others - or not at all.
The question I now have to deal with is what if it happened again - would I put him through it at his age? I actually can't give a definitive answer - if it came to it, I'd have to let him tell me.
 
Yes one of mine had colic surgery in March 2008 at Rossdales. He is a colicky horse any way but he started colicing just after lunch. Vet came and gave usual painkillers etc. By 4.30 I could tell he still wasn't right or comfortable, vet's rung again but said to give a few more hours. By 6.30pm he had really broken through the painkillers so rang the vet's again, the on-call vet was on another visit and didn't actually get to us until 10.30 pm.

The examination revealed that there was something wrong on the right hand side so it was a case of get to Rossdales asap. Boxing him there was fine and the way he pranced across the carpark you would not have believed how ill he was. When they examined him they got out nearly 10 litres of reflux and the ultrasound revealed there were twists. It was a split second decision to either operate or PTS. Because he had kept going so long and was such a fighter, I had to give him a chance. His eyes were sparkling and he looked a picture of health, he was not ready to give up or telling me he wanted to go.

He went through to surgery at about 1 am and I got the phone call at 4 am to say they had just finished operating, not actually bought him round yet, but he had multiple twists that had taken so long to unravel. He spent 10 days in hospital with me visiting every day. He was on box rest with in hand walking 3 times a day and picks of grass. He was a nightmare at times with explosions and rearing etc but he coped fine. 2 months after surgery he started going out in the field or very short periods building up the amount of time each time. Exactly 3 months after surgery I was able to ride him again. At no time had he lost weight or looked 'poor' following the surgery.

Since his op he has competed again winning and getting placed in both jumping and showing. He has taught other people to ride and looked after a number of inexperienced horses out hacking etc.

I am pleased I took the chance with surgery. He has colicked since then on average 2 - 3 times a year, but this is no more than he used to do before he had his operation.

It worked for him however, if it was my other horse (a TB), I know that he would not have coped with either the operation, the box rest etc.

I do respect other people's opinions and views on the subject and would not think any less of anyone for deciding not to proceed with surgery. And hope that people would in return respect my decision for opting for surgery.
 
I still think that colic surgery is in its infancy - and i think that many owners do not have any conception of the aftercare required for an animal.

After seeing several horses over the past few years, not make a good recovery and all have been lost within a year of surgery I would not send one of mine.

Our closest hospital is Liverpool - and I have taken 3 horses there for other people - and I hate the journey there and the sheer helplessness of driving a sedated horse, trying to drive as fast as you can but as steady as you can, whilst trying to be upbeat for the owner, and its usually late at night in the pouring rain or so foggy you cant see the road in front of you. But worse than that is the quiet of the journey home, and then waiting for that call.

Colic is one of the most upsetting experiances I have ever had with a horse, and i will be honest you sometimes just want to get a gun and put them out of the misery yourself - I dread being the first to the yard sometimes - as its usually me that has the misforutne in finding an animal in trouble and we have 2 that are going down hill fast at the moment, and every morn i feel dread walking into the yard.

GW
x
 
I would have to say that I would always call the vet if a horse had colic symptoms beccause the two occasions I had a horse with colic, they were minor and able to be resolved without too many issues.

Having said that if a vet suggested surgery I would be very hesitant. Especially now after reading your posts.
 
I have made the decision, rightly or wrongly to not have colic surgery done on my boy if it ever becomes an option. I would PTS.

I made that decision a while ago when I changed his insurance to veteran as I couldn't afford the full insurance. It is not all about money though,I really feel it is such a huge thing for a horse to go through with not necessarily a good outcome and I feel at 20yrs of age and my boy's temperament not a good idea on several levels.

Jane
 
I've had two experiences of horses with colic.

The first was another persons horse but I was the first one to find it with the YO. He had obviously been colicing all night and was in a bit of a state when we found him. He could barely stand, was covered in cuts and bruises, and was literally dripping in sweat from head to toe. Vet called straight away (before even speaking to the owner!) and the moment the vet turned up he was referred straight to Leahurst which luckily is only about 30-40 mins away. He had surgery where they removed the maximum possible amount of intestine. It was touch-and-go for a bit. He developed a hernia and had to wear a belt for a while. But he is now fully recovered and like normal nearly 3 years on with no recurrence of colic symptoms.

The second was my own big girl. For some months she had been behaving strangely; just never happy, she wanted to be out in the field, then desperate to be in etc. Then one night I came down and another livery had just bought her in as she was lying down next to the gate - something she never does. She was lying down in her stable when I got there and the other livery was worried so had tried phoning me. Phoned vet straight away and managed to get her up and walking about. She seemed ok once up so the vet gave her some pain medication and came back a couple of hours later and she seemed a lot better.

Kept her in over night and in the morning found she hadn't eaten anything and had only done one poo. Whilst she looked ok and bright in herself, I just felt she wasn't right. Got the vet out again, she agreed that whilst she looked ok she just wasn't right. She had an increased heart rate that didn't come down with pain medication. At this point we thought that we would err on the side of caution and go to Leahurst.

When we got there, they did all the tests and poking around but couldn't find anything until they scanned her belly and saw a massively inflamed section of intestine. She was whipped straight into surgery and she had a bit of intestine stuck in a small cavity in her abdomen. They didn't have to remove any of her intestine and she came home after a couple of weeks.

She had ~ 2 months of box rest with about 20 mins morning and night in a stable sized field area that I think really helped keep her sane. She was an angel through out the box rest - too much so as she developed compression laminitus due to standing too still. We started increasing her time out in her little field and after ~ 4 months she went back out 24 hours with the rest of the girls. She never had any problems with the wound, you can hardly see it! She's back to normal and also her behaviour has returned to normal.

She was insured, as the surgery and recovery was quite straight forward it was relatively cheap ~£4-5000 in total. I can't remember the exact numbers - I tried to forget! Of which I had to pay around £1000 myself due to excess, livery costs and any extras. I don't regret any of it but I think we got to it very early which made the surgery etc. a lot more straight forward.
 
Yes, my horse had a 7 foot section of bowel that had fallen through a membrane next to his diaphragm. They were able to save all of it and it didn't need resectioning. Unfortunately as he was so large (around 900kg) being on his back that long had damaged the nerves in his back legs. He was unable to get up in recovery and had to be PTS.
 
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