General Anaesthetic

[Carrots&Mints]

Mr M has had his results back from Prof Sarcoid at Liverpool and they recommended the laser surgery under general anaesthetic due to the area (his man hood).

Has anyone had their horse treated this way? Or had any operations not necessarily sarcoid removal but under general anaesthetic that can give me words of advice, wisdom or reassurance I’m like a nervous wreck now!

 

[eggs]

One of mine had a sarcoid removed under GA from his 'manhood' a few years ago. He was fine and was more worried by me approaching with a syringe for his IM antibiotic
jab each day (unfortunately for him he was the first horse I had had to jab).

I've had other horses operated on under GA and it is always a worry but for the vast majority they recover very well.

 

[Hetsmum]

Every horse is different. Mine underwent GA 18 months ago for partial amputation of manparts due to SCC. 2 hour operation and woke up like a pro. Sat up for 10 mins before getting to his feet and looking around. He was actually operated on in an indoor school so vets used ropes to guide him up and lots of man power! I actually think this was better as he is good with people and coming round surrounded with the vets he knew helped him remain calm. No complications other than I found he was quite tired for about 2 weeks and didn't want to eat much except grass which was hard as he could only go out at night due to wound and flies.
Good luck and try not to worry. I dropped mine off and mucked out and tried to busy myself at yard. When I got the call from vet to say he's up and ok I burst into tears - didn't realise how much I had been holding it in!

 

[Cowpony]

My mare had a general anaesthetic about 15 months ago and was fine. She was a bit stressy the next day and had pink sticking plaster all over her hooves (to protect them and the horspital's floor when they let her down from the hoist) so she looked as if she had pink nailvarnish on! She's coloured and has a lot of white around the area they operated on, so was stained pink with the anti-bacterial wash they used on the wound. Combined with the shaved area and the incisions (one big one plus smaller ones where they had put instruments and tubes in) she looked a mess, but I was just happy to see her up on her feet and looking OK.

The only after-effect was that she was a bit wary of needles for about a year afterwards, and also took a dislike to being wormed because that looks like a syringe too.

 

[Cowpony]

Double posted

 

[Carrots&Mints]

Thanks for the replies. Just waiting to hear back what day his surgery will be - the sonner the better i hope!

 

[Wheels]

I had a 5 yo gelded last year under general - it is nerve wracking!!!

There is less risk if the horse is fit & healthy in all other ways so try to maintain or improve any fitness you currently have and ensure your boy is the correct weight

risks are bigger for very young, very old, ill in some other way type horses

Good luck

 

[Annie B.]

Hi carrots and mints, my boy came home last Friday after having laser surgery last Wednesday. He had a cluster of three removed from his arm pit, 3 removed between his sheath and belly button and 1 from up inside the crease of his buttocks. My boy was under the care of Prof Debra Archer and she was fantastic and kept me very well informed. I also was more concerned about the GA as my boy is massive and the idea of him hurting himself getting up was driving me nuts, I was struggling to sleep before and whilst he was in. He came home last Friday afternoon and the stitches burst Saturday moring absolute panic even though I was warned it would happen in the armpit as the area is so mobile. I rang Leahurst and within half an hour the Proffesor was on the phone to reassure me and I know just bathe the areas twice a day with saline. I hope all goes well for you and your horse and you are soon on the other side of treatment.

 

[stormclouds]

A mare I used to ride went under GA for sarcoid removal, all went well, and they said she was back to kicking the doors down within hours after coming round. Still a horrible time, the waiting was awful.

She was 9 at the time, relatively fit, but was prone to bad bouts of colic, so were slightly worried the stress/op would bring an attack on, but she was fine.

 

[ROMANY 1959]

Dublin had a general for his hobday and tieback op in November, I was on pins all morning till the vet called me at 1 pm to say he was on his feet, had a drink and was fine... I took the morning off work as I knew I would be useless to them... I am sure your horse will be fine...vets are so used to us worry bum owners...

 

[lizness]

Hi, worked at a vets for a year, didn't do a lot of operations there but probably saw 15-20 no complications for any . Horses look rough after usually and can make a bit of noise getting up but are (usually) in a padded cell.

 

[skyrock]

My foal was born with knock knees in Aughust 2012. She had surgery under general anasthetic at seven weeks old to correct her kness and again six weeks later to remove the pins. She was only a baby but she was fine.

 

[TripleBar]

My boy had a general anaesthetic - hes a very big lad so was really worrying over it. I went to see him on the evening of his surgery day expecting a fed up, rough looking horse - he was as bright as a button and you really couldnt tell anything had happened to him

 

[Sussexbythesea]

I worried terribly when my 19yr old had an operation with GA on both his hind-legs end of last August. I cried every time I thought about it, not just the op but potential injury in recovery, post-op colic and infection. My vet said that age isn't usually a risk factor in horses as long as they are generally well, however excess weight was and mine had to lose some before his op.

He was absolutely fine although I did have a bit of a panic when he came home and then started stamping his hind legs and having mild colic symptoms. A shot of buscopan though and he was fine from then on.

 

[paulineh]

16years ago my boy went in for an abdominal operation (One Undescended testicle )as the vet spent some time looking for the second one he was under the GA for a while. My only worry was breaking a leg went he got up. He was fine and loved his 5 days at the vets.

 

[MagicMelon]

One of mine had a GA to tidy up a tendon injury. I was a nervous wreck while I knew it was going on (I lived 3 hours away from the vets I'd taken him to) but he was on his feet pretty quick after it and no problems at all. I think they're pretty good at doing these things nowadays.

 

[gunnergundog]

There is less risk if the horse is fit & healthy in all other ways so try to maintain or improve any fitness you currently have and ensure your boy is the correct weight

risks are bigger for very young, very old, ill in some other way type horses

Good luck

As above and be aware that some insurance companies may require a pre-anaesthesia risk assessment blood test, so if you are planning to claim on your insurance do check with them first. I was advised this by my vet, but when I spoke to the insurers (Kbis) they were happy without.