This 7-year-old Thoroughbred stallion underwent life-saving colic surgery at Charles Sturt University at midnight on Saturday night. The horse has recovered from his ordeal and is progressing well.
This is an example of a co-operative effort between a veterinary practitioner in Cowra, and the surgical referral centre at Charles Sturt University. At the Veterinary Clinical Centre, we were able to call on a specialist colic team consisting of an anaesthesiologist, a surgeon, trained veterinary nurses and senior veterinary students.
Soon after arriving at Charles Sturt’s VCC, it was determined that the stallion had a life threatening abdominal accident which needed immediate surgery. Within the hour, the stallion was anaesthetised and placed on the operating table. Exploratory surgery revealed that the stallion small intestine had become trapped and had to be carefully released. The horse made an uneventful recovery from anaesthetic and the surgery.