Endoscopy and Tracheal Wash - what to expect

Gorgeous George

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George has been suffering with an intermittant cough and the vet is pretty sure that it is the early signs of RAO/COPD :( he has just finished a course of anti b's (just in case it was an infection) and ventipulmin, the ventipulmin really helped but when he finished it at the weekend he started coughing again :( so on Friday the vet is coming to the yard to do an endoscopy and tracheal wash and I don't really know what to expect, I feel a bit sorry for George as I'm sure it won't be pleasant.

So any information, experiences would be greatly appreciated :)

(i've posted this in veterinary as well, but I know lots of people come in here!)
 

MuddyTB

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Hi,

My lad had this done just before Christmas and like you I didn't know what to expect. Basically they brought down a mobile monitor on a trolley which was positioned just outside the stable door. They then had to stick a tube up my boys nose with the camera. The initial entry to the nose is a bit uncomfortable for them but once in they can then pass the tube further up and my boy didn't seem to mind. We twitched him to be safe but he basically just stood there and wasn't too upset.

You can watch the monitor with the vet, mine was great and explained everything as he went along. He squirted some fluid into the lower trachea just before it branches to the lungs and then sucked this back out to send for tests. Again my boy didn't seem upset by this.

Hope George is ok, sorry not a very technical explanation but the best I can do.
 

Wagtail

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My girl had it done a couple of years ago. Not the most comfortable of procedures I have to admit and she was worried even though she was sedated. It also left her scared of the clippers. I think due to the lead and the noise. She was ok with cordless clippers but not with the corded ones. The machine that they use sounds a bit like clippers and of cause, has a lot of tubing attached.

So yes, a bit of an uncomfortable procedure to be honest, but definitely worth doing as you get an accurate idea of what is going on down there. Good luck with it.
 

toystory

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My boys had this done about six times due to respiratory problems (we call him sicknote) hes always been to the vets to have his done purely because it saved me the cost of a visit each time. Hes been fine vet gave him a small amount of sedation and its a little uncomfortable for them but nothing to worry about, your boy should be fine.
 

MuddyTB

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Thanks for that, it doesn't sound too bad then, George is generally quite calm about things.

Is your boy ok?

I'm sure he'll be fine, and it's definitely best to know what's going on.

Results weren't conclusive for my boy but with the wash and bloods I know there is nothing too nasty going on so am back hacking out again. Probably low level RAO/COPD so we'll see how he goes. But I wouldn't have wanted to work him if I was going to risk making him worse.

Horses...not good for the blood pressure or the bank balance!
 

sunshine19

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My normally quiet lad fought against everything. He was very uncomfortable and coughing throughout the procedure. He had to have his sedation topped up and was also twitched. The two vets gave up after 15 mins as he was getting too stressed. I felt crap, he looked crap but we did find the possible source of the problem. I have seen lots of racehorses being scoped with absolutely no problems, I was really suprised at my lads reaction.
 
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Laafet

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Through working with racehorses I have seen loads of horses scoped from nervous yearlings at the sales upwards and for the most part they tolerate it well. Just a note of caution, sometimes the vet may accidentally knock the delicate membranes in the nose and cause what will seem like a massive nose bleed. I have seen this more in riding horses than TB's, no idea why but looks pretty horrific all the same. Having had my own nose scoped it was not that bad and as I said most just let you get on with it, be prepared for some sedation or twitching, we rarely do it with TB's with sedation as there is usually someone nice and strong to hold them down but riding horse vets do tend to sedate more.
Hope George is ok, I've been following his story since you first got him all those years ago.
 
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