Rainbow Equine Hospital in Malton have saved the life of a horse by using revolutionary surgery to remove a large mass in its stomach.
Surgeons used a ground-breaking keyhole technique to remove the 12cm-long tumour from Valtano, a 15-year-old 17.1hh Anglo English Studbook Warmblood who is owned by Katie Boddy.
The tumour was discovered by Rainbow vet Lizzie Cullen, a European specialist in equine internal medicine, when she examined Valtano for suspected stomach ulcers.
A follow up examination a few weeks later showed the mass had grown significantly and it was now preventing food material from passing through the digestive system and causing it to build up in the horse’s oesophagus and stomach.
Lizzie discussed the case, which was now life-threatening, with her colleagues including her husband Matthew Cullen who is a European specialist in equine surgery. It was decided to use keyhole surgery to remove the tumour.
The operation, which lasted two-and-a-half-hours, involved making an incision along Valtano’s abdomen, then passing keyhole instruments through smaller incisions in his stomach.
Team effort
Matthew worked together with fellow surgeon Jonathan Anderson to carefully cut away the mass, guided by images from a gastroscope – a special camera that was fed by Lizzie down Valtano’s throat and into his stomach.
“Gastric surgery is not common in horses due to the stomach being positioned deep inside the abdomen, making it difficult to access,” explained Matthew.
“The keyhole approach allowed us to get bigger instruments into the stomach and also improved our access to the base of the mass so we could remove more of it.
“Valtano was anaesthetised and placed on his back for the surgery, then his abdomen was opened using a ‘J-shaped’ incision to make it easier to access the stomach. Small keyhole incisions were then made in the stomach so laparoscopic instruments measuring 1cm in diameter could be inserted to operate on the mass.
“As well as successfully helping Valtano, this surgical method could be beneficial in the future by giving us another option to operate on the inside of other hollow organs inside the body that are difficult to access, such as the bladder, uterus and other parts of the gastrointestinal tract.”
No regrowth
Valtano was monitored at Rainbow Equine Hospital for two weeks after his surgery. A follow up gastroscopy six months after the procedure showed the mass hadn’t regrown.
“Valtano made really good progress after his surgery and everyone was delighted to see him recover – he became very popular with all of the team,” said Lizzie.
“We had been concerned that the mass was cancerous because it looked quite nasty, but a sample was sent away for analysis and we were delighted to find out it was benign. The lab report said it was benign hyperplasia, which is an overgrowth of normal tissue. This is not something that’s commonly found in horses.”
Making good progress
When Valtano returned to his home at Sproxton Grange Equestrian Centre he was on box rest for 12 weeks before progressing to a covered pen and a small paddock. He has slowly been brought back into work by Katie.
“It was a huge shock when Lizzie told me about the mass inside his stomach, as I’d been expecting a diagnosis of ulcers based on the signs he’d been showing and because he’d suffered from them before,” said Katie, who has owned Valtano for seven years.
“Rainbow talked me through all the options and what I needed to consider, and while at that point we didn’t know if the lump was cancerous or not, I wanted to do what I could to save Valtano.
“He’s such a lovely horse with a big personality and I knew that he was in safe hands and Rainbow would do the best for him. After the surgery he was bright and alert straight away and it was such a relief when we heard that the mass wasn’t cancerous.
“It’s so exciting that Valtano has a future ahead of him and it’s all thanks to the team at Rainbow,” concluded Katie.
Katie hopes to be back out competing Valtano in dressage soon.
Images © VetPartners.
