Swelling in the throat....how long to subside?

[joeanne]

So my 4yr old had a wicked case of choke a week ago Saturday.
The tube got horribly blocked so the tube was taken out and re-inserted 3 times (not helped by her being a prat).
Bute was given for the next 5 days. Sunday saw no swelling, Monday the swelling started to appear, a fist sized swelling hafway down the underside of her neck.
Tuesday the swelling had doubled in size. Vet said that was ok as long as no problems with her breathing were noticed and it didn't get any bigger. It was very tender to touch. Wednesday the swelling started to subside, but 10 days on, the remains of it (half the size of a fist) is still there and still a touch tender.
How much longer would be the norm to see the swelling totally disappear? She is obviously not working, but still turned out. No problems eating/grazing, just frustrating!

 

[ImogenBurrows]

So my 4yr old had a wicked case of choke a week ago Saturday.
The tube got horribly blocked so the tube was taken out and re-inserted 3 times (not helped by her being a prat).

This is not uncommon - it sometimes takes several visits to clear a choke with lots of lavaging....

Bute was given for the next 5 days. Sunday saw no swelling, Monday the swelling started to appear, a fist sized swelling hafway down the underside of her neck.
Tuesday the swelling had doubled in size. Vet said that was ok as long as no problems with her breathing were noticed and it didn't get any bigger. It was very tender to touch. Wednesday the swelling started to subside, but 10 days on, the remains of it (half the size of a fist) is still there and still a touch tender.
How much longer would be the norm to see the swelling totally disappear? She is obviously not working, but still turned out. No problems eating/grazing, just frustrating!

Hmmm. I've never seen this external swelling after a choke clearing. I often recommend a soft diet for a few days, but rarely find I have to give bute....never a bad idea though.

Maybe she is sensitive to the oesophagus manipulation with the stomach tube, but this far after the tubing for it still to be there means I'd probably be tempted down the line of scoping the horse to check there is no significant damage in the actual oesophagus....it is very unlikely but ruling out a tear is not going to be a bad thing is it? Most likely not this as it'd be getting bigger, not smaller properly and maybe difficultly eating.

Just a thought though.
Imogen