Transoral endoscopic‐guided subepiglottic cyst excision in two standing horses using a polypectomy snare

Summary Subepiglottic cysts (SECs) form within the aryepiglottic tissue of the equine upper airway and are thought to arise from remnants of the embryonic thyroglossal duct, craniopharyngeal duct or Ranke's pouch. The clinical presentation of affected horses can vary, with larger cysts usually associated with signs such as dysphasia, exercise intolerance and epiglottic entrapment. Incidental recognition of asymptomatic cases can occur during routine endoscopic examination. Various surgical approaches and techniques for cyst excision have been described and are most commonly performed under general anaesthesia. This case report describes an alternative surgical technique in two horses where cyst excision was performed under standing sedation using a transoral approach with endoscopic guidance. A four‐wire electrocautery polypectomy snare was used to encircle and excise the cyst(s) in toto. The technique offers advantages including improved visualisation of the surgical field and reduced complications usually associated with general anaesthesia. In both cases, the surgery was well tolerated, the cysts were successfully removed without complication, and recoveries were uneventful.