Equine Surgery

At Stillwater Equine Veterinary Clinic, our surgeon can perform a variety of elective orthopedic and soft tissue surgeries.

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What to Expect From Equine Surgery

We always keep clients fully informed about why a surgical procedure is recommended, the length of recovery, and any post-operative care their horse will need.

Surgical Procedures at Stillwater Equine Veterinary Clinic

We perform elective surgeries to help treat diseases and conditions in horses or to repair injuries. Our surgeon performs orthopedic, arthroscopy, soft tissue, and reproductive surgeries.

• Arthroscopy

  Arthroscopy is a technique used by equine surgeons to evaluate and treat diseases within joints. Similar techniques are also used to evaluate and treat diseases within tendon sheaths and bursae.

  A narrow, rigid instrument called an arthroscope is placed through a small incision to examine the inside of a joint, tendon sheath, or bursa. The image is then transmitted to a camera for viewing on a monitor. Specially designed surgical instruments are passed through separate small incisions to assist in the treatment of disease within these structures.

• Colic Abdominal Surgery

  Colic surgery is one of the most common soft tissue surgeries that equine surgeons perform. Our veterinarians can assess your horse's condition and recommend surgical solutions if it is in the best interest of your horse.

  Our surgeon is available part-time on a case-by-case basis.

• Abdominal Hernia Repair

  Horses can be born with a hernia or even develop one during their life due to trauma. Our veterinarians can determine if surgical correction is necessary.

• Surgical Dental Procedures

  If there is an issue with your horse's teeth, gums or the surrounding structures, we can perform various dental surgeries to alleviate pain and discomfort.

  Learn More About Equine Dental Care

• Tie-back Procedures

  The arytenoid cartilage in your horse's throat can become paralyzed leading to a partial blockage of the airway. This can produce a noise called “roaring” when a horse is exercised. Tie-back surgery is performed to pull the cartilage to the side and suture it to keep it from interfering with the flow of air. In some horses, the vocal cords are also removed (ventriculocordectomy) to increase airflow and reduce noise as the horse breathes.

• Neurectomy

  A neurectomy is a procedure where the surgeon removes part of a nerve. This procedure is most commonly performed for chronic conditions of the foot.

  Removing part of the nerve can alleviate pain for anywhere from 6 months to many years.

The Surgery Process

We understand the devotion you have to your horse's safety and well-being. Please be assured that we recommend surgery only when it is in your horse's best interests.

Our team has a multitude of experience in equine surgery. You can trust that we will do everything we can to make the process as safe and comfortable as possible for your horse.

Standing vs. Traditional Surgery

Most large animal surgeries are performed on standing, awake patients, and are typically to repair traumatic injuries such as lacerations. Other common procedures performed standing are castration, reproductive surgery, and minor hoof and lower leg procedures.

Recovery from general anesthesia is the single largest risk for horses after surgery, and standing surgery avoids most of those risks. Also, some surgical procedures are easier to perform on a standing patient. Performing a standing procedure whenever possible is in the patient's best interest.

There are certain cases where standing surgery simply cannot be performed. In this case, you can be sure that our team has extensive experience keeping patients safe during surgery. We use blood pressure, capnography, pulse oximetry and ECG monitoring to reduce risks when your horse is under anesthesia.