Please keep your fingers crossed - colic surgery

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Splishsplash

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Please, please, please keep your fingers crossed for my horse, George. My YO found him with very bad colic this morning and he is currently at the vets on the operating table. They're having to remove 23ft of dead small intestine and it's touch and go, the vet gave him odds of 50:50 so we had to give it a shot.

I don't know what I'll do if I lose him. The vet said it's likely to be another couple of hours till he has more news so I've been sent home to wait....it's been a very tearful morning. Please keep your fingers crossed, it's not his time to go yet.
 
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Splishsplash

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Thank you to you all. I have no news yet and am sitting very anxiously by the phone.

If he makes it through the surgery itself, the vet said the next step is for him to stand up by himself. Please, please keep those fingers firmly crossed.
 
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Splishsplash

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Thank you. He's out of surgery but still fast asleep so now we have to wait and see if he comes round from the anaesthetic and can get up. It's been about half an hour since we called and they said he was out of surgery so i'm getting worried that he hasn't come round yet :(
 
AmyMay

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Splishsplash said:
It's been about half an hour since we called and they said he was out of surgery so i'm getting worried that he hasn't come round yet :(
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Let them do their job - their time will be taken up with managing him coming round and getting up at the moment.

They'll ring you as soon as he's safe and sound in his stable.
 
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CrazyMare

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Fingers crossed for you.

If its any consolation, my OH's old boy had colic surgery, then spent a good 45 mins laid down in the 'padded cell', looking at the vets & nurses. He then got up in his own time, without so much as a wobble. He was clearly waiting until he felt OK to stand up. He then had a hiccup free recovery.
 
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Splishsplash

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He's awake and on his feet :). He took a very long time coming round and getting up; it was more than 2 hours from being told that he was out of surgery to finally getting the call to say he was up. He's still woozy but the vet has said i can pop up to see him for a few minutes as i haven't seen him in over a week (i flew back from holiday in the early hours last night...what a welcome home present), so that's where i'm heading now. The next 24 - 48 hours are critical as his gut needs to start working again but he is over the first few hurdles. Thank you all for the kind wishes :).
 
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Shilasdair

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Just thought I might mention that two of mine have had colic surgery - one in 2006, and one in 2010.
They both had a hiccup after surgery - the first one had a high temperature for a day but soon rallied. The second one would not eat for about 4 or 5 days; her gut wouldn't move, but then picked up.
Both recovered well after that, and are fine now (well they were broncing around the field tonight :p).
Good luck - where there's life, there's hope.
S :D

ETA useful website http://www.liv.ac.uk/equinecolic/index.htm
 
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JenBlues

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Fingers crossed for you. Mine had colic surgery this time last year. 6in of intestine removed due to a strangulating lipoma.

He's doing really well but did spend 3 and a half weeks at the vets having had an allergic reaction to the stitches. He then had the full 6 months box rest with just walking and grazing in hand because the muscles didn't join back together properly!! He does these things properly.

Hope you get through this
 
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Splishsplash

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Thanks for all the support and advice. It's been an exhausting day so I'm going to head to bed (with my phone, in case the vet needs me in the night) but will read through that website first thing in the morning if he comes through the night ok. It's really nice to hear your stories of horses that have had colic surgery and are now back causing mischief. He looked awful when I saw him this evening, he's battered and bruised all over (particularly on his face) from colicking, was pawing constantly and still very dopey. On the plus side, he was alert enough to be watching what was going on, had several big drinks and tried a couple of mouthfuls of the mash they'd made up...before spitting it straight back out. It's now a waiting game and i'm praying like anything that he comes through this ok...i'm still struggling to get my head round the idea that it's even possible to remove 23 feet of intestine and for him to have a good outcome. I have total faith in my vet team though. Ps apologies for lack of paragraphs etc, i'm on my phone.
 
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Splishsplash

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Thanks all. He was a lot brighter this morning but his small intestine isn't working yet. This is causing stomach fluid to build up (as it's not getting pulled through to his intestines) which is very painful for him. He has a nose tube in and the vets are sucking fluid out every few hours to relieve the pressure. He's bright enough to be trying to rub the tube out, but we just really need his small intestine to start up again and for him to develop no other complications. Fingers crossed please.

Shilasdair - thanks for sending the link to the website. I have read through it this morning and it was really helpful. Sadly he had epiploic foramen entrapment so his prognosis isn't as good as for other types of colic, particularly as he had a very long operation and a very large amount of intestine removed. We had to give him a chance though, so now we're waiting and hoping :)
 
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Shilasdair

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Splishsplash said:
Shilasdair - thanks for sending the link to the website. I have read through it this morning and it was really helpful. Sadly he had epiploic foramen entrapment so his prognosis isn't as good as for other types of colic, particularly as he had a very long operation and a very large amount of intestine removed. We had to give him a chance though, so now we're waiting and hoping :)
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Mine had surgery for IFEE (mentioned on that website, but not much info). Foolishly, I looked up scientific papers on it, including survival rates. Very few horses survived to 12 months, fewer still to 18 months. :(

My girl is still here though - actually 2 1/2 yrs since surgery (I think I got the original year I stated wrong). :D She also couldn't eat for something like 4 days post surgery - needed nasal tubing, drips etc. She's not stopped eating since, though! :p
Keep us posted.
S :D
 
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Splishsplash

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No improvement to report tonight :(. His gut still isn't working, he's still got an impaction and he's still got the nasal tube in though the amount of liquid they've been siphoning out of his stomach has gone down a little. Vet said they're really worried about him and that he's the most critically ill horse they have in at the moment. It's really hard to process as he's so bright in himself. Despite the drip and nose tube he's watching what's going on, rubbing his head on any available object/person as he doesn't like the nose tube, is calm and was even eyeing up another horse's dinner. The vet said we've just got to keep hoping and everything crossed. It's really encouraging though to hear Shils went through the nasal tube with her horse and there was a happy ending :)
 
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