This horse was about 8 yrs old when I was asked to look
at him down by the coast. He had an unusual gait that had developed recently.
He looked
like he was losing control of his hind legs and swayed to the left when
he walked. Important features when I first examined him was
a sensitivity in his right flank which coresponded to a mass that was palpable
on an internal exam (via a rectal exam). Since he was a gray horse we couldn't
rule out a tumor so I did a blood count on him. His white cell count was
elevated so we presumed the mass was an abcess.
We started using hot salt soaks to draw the infection
to the surface and put him on antibiotics. He kept losing weight and
the infection was not making its way to the surface, so we
elected to drain it surgically.
Not wanting to contaminate my surgery room, I elected
to do the surgery outside on a nice day. We positioned Spooner on a tumbling
mat on his side. Dr Woods assisted the approach by doing a rectal exam
while I made the incision in his flank directly over the area Dr Woods
identified as the mass.
Once the abcess was entered, the infection
came out under some pressure so we knew the horse would be relieved.
The interior of the abcess was debrided to remove all debris, and then
it was packed off with medicated guaze packing to encourage healing from "the
inside out".
Partial closure of the skin at the top allowed for bottom drainage where
the gauze exited the dead space of the abcess.
The gauze was removed a little at a time over a week's
time. Spooner started to gain weight, walk straight, and went home for wound
care by the owner.
About two months later the owner called to report that Sooner went to a
horse show and won some ribbons.
