INTUSSUCEPTION OF THE SMALL INTESTINE AND COMPACTION OF THE GREATER COLON IN A MINI HORSE

Colic in horses is a very common pathology among the species, especially in times of drought, when the food supply decreases and hay, silage and feed are added to the animals' diet.When not diagnosed in time, it leads to a poor prognosis or even death.Over the years, many scientific studies have been carried out on colic in horses, highlighting how their anatomy contributes to the predisposition to colic syndrome.Anatomically, the structure of the equine cardia has well-developed musculature, which prevents food from returning to the esophagus and, consequently, prevents the animal from vomiting.In addition, their small intestines are extremely long, which can increase the likelihood of obstructions and other intestinal complications.The aim of this paper is to report the case of a male mini horse who was referred to Unifran's veterinary hospital with severe abdominal pain, dehydration, apathy, low body temperature and no bowel movements.An abdominal ultrasound was carried out and showed distension of the small intestine.The diagnosis of small bowel intussusception was detected during exploratory laparotomy, where in addition to distension, intussusception was observed, along with compaction of the greater colon.The treatment for this pathology was exploratory laparotomy, which involved enterectomy of a part of the small intestine that was already necrotic and later anastomosis, as well as enterotomy in the pelvic flexure to wash and remove the mass obstructing the colon.After the surgery, the animal remained in hospital recovering from intensive treatment, where it improved its clinical condition and was discharged after 15 days in hospital.