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  Discussion on Penile Prolapse
Author Message
New Member:
Khandzo

Posted on Thursday, Dec 19, 2002 - 7:37 pm:

I have a horse whoes age we don't know. It is assumed that he is approximately 20+ years old.
Tonight, we checked on him and his penis is fully extended and there is a big "softball" like bubble of fluid surrounding it. After reading the article, it sounds like he may have a penile prolapse. What is the treatment for this? How serious is the condition if it is a penile prolapse. Could this be caused by his lack of weight gain?
We have had much difficulty keeping weight on him during the winter months. In the last two weeks, he has gone "downhill". He has continued to lose weight. We feed him Equine Senior and supplement with hay and pasture when sufficient.
Member:
Hwood

Posted on Thursday, Dec 19, 2002 - 7:54 pm:

Kathryn,
How long have you owned the horse? How tall is he? What do you estimate to be his normal weight? How much Senior is he getting a.m. and p.m.?
Holly
Member:
Khandzo

Posted on Thursday, Dec 19, 2002 - 8:16 pm:

We have owned him for 4 years. He is a little over 15 hands. I am not sure how much he weighs. I apologize for not knowing but I am relatively new to horse ownership as my husband is more familiar. We feed him 2 lbs. of Equine Senior twice a day. He has free roam of pasture
(not much available in the winter) so we also feed him hay.
Member:
Hwood

Posted on Thursday, Dec 19, 2002 - 9:53 pm:

Hi, Kathryn,
I can't answer your penile prolapse question . . . am waiting for someone with more experience to take that one, but I am concerned about the weight loss . . . . . Have you always fed him 4lbs of Senior a day and had that be enough for him? Is the Senior an extruded feed? (like dog food?) and how much hay does he get?
Holly
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Dec 20, 2002 - 8:52 am:

Hello Kathryn,
The treatment is described in the article but you will need the immediate help of your veterinarian. If generalized weakness is the cause of the prolapse this may require prolonged treatment as it will take some time to get the strength back.

We have a detailed article on assessing and treating horses with weight loss at » Equine Diseases » Colic and GI Diseases » Weight Loss in Horses » Diagnosing Chronic Weight Loss. But you should involve your vet in this problem also.

Lastly to deal with the special demands of a old horse we have an article on geriatric care at » Care for Horses » Disease Prevention and Health Care » Geriatric Horse: Problems and Care. This should give you plenty to consider and do but the prolapse is an emergency that needs tending to today: call the vet out.
DrO
Member:
Tmo0hul

Posted on Friday, Dec 20, 2002 - 9:57 am:

As far as the weight loss goes, I would think that you should up his rations of Equine Senior (slowly). To give you a better idea, I have a 27 year old mare, just slightly taller than yours. She gets 10-12# Equine Senior daily plus 1/3 cup vegatable oil and free access to pasture and hay. I also blanket her in the winter so she doesn't have to work as hard to stay warm. This has been the only way I can keep her fat. Good luck.
Member:
Khandzo

Posted on Friday, Dec 20, 2002 - 11:18 am:

Thank you Dr. Oglesby. The vet came out early this morning. He prescribed a fluid medicine for the swelling and we are to provide cold water bathing of the area for 1 hour twice daily. At this point, he is still able to urinate but there is much concern regarding the ability to preserve his penis. As stated in your article, we are also concerned about necrosis. Because of his low weight which has gotten worse over the last few weeks, there is also concern about his ability to process protein which could mean that his kidneys are failing. Thank you for your references. Any additional information that you could provide would be helpful.

Member:
Khandzo

Posted on Friday, Dec 20, 2002 - 11:35 am:

Christy -

Thanks for the information. We will try to increase his feed gradually. Usually we can maintain him in the winter with the 4lbs. of Senior a day. We have tried to increase his feed in the past but this has caused diahhrea. So we will try again in moderation. We have never used vegetable oil. But it sounds like that helps!
Thanks
Member:
Hwood

Posted on Friday, Dec 20, 2002 - 4:53 pm:

Hi, Kathryn,
I agree with Christy . . . . I have rehabilitated several old, malnourished horses . . . . 4lbs of Senior is about 1/2 or less of the daily ration. Have you tried a prebiotic supplement to help the horse process his feed? I have found that it helps . . . . I have always soaked the complete feed pellets with water and have used corn oil to add weight initially . . . . . never more than 3c a day (1c per feeding) but only after gradually adding it in 1/4c doses. You can often reduce the oil after the horse arrives at his best weight.
Holly
Member:
Paul303

Posted on Friday, Dec 20, 2002 - 10:18 pm:

Kathryn, Are his teeth in good shape? I've had some good luck with a whole pelleted feed like Kwik, wet with warm water and with corn oil as stated above. With stubborn cases, I have divided their ration into 3 or more separate feedings daily. It seemed to be easier on their systems, and over time, I could get more feed in them.
Member:
Khandzo

Posted on Friday, Dec 20, 2002 - 10:28 pm:

Elizabeth-
His teeth are in pretty good shape. It sounds like we should moisten the feed and add oil. Is there a difference in using vegetable vs. corn oil?
thanks for the input!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Dec 21, 2002 - 12:51 pm:

Concerning what to do about increasing feed, read the article I reference above. It gives fairly detailed instructions on what to do and how to do it.

The problem with medical therapy alone is the poor circulation and dependent edema prevents it with working the rather simple surgical procedure in the article has saved many a penis's (peni?). Some cases may be successful but at the first sign this is not working you should proceed to the surgery.
DrO
Member:
Khandzo

Posted on Sunday, Dec 22, 2002 - 2:02 pm:

Hello Dr. O

As you mentioned, the medicine to reduce swelling has not been effective. The vet has not tried pressure bandaging and massage. Can you give further details on this process. Also, with the surgery...how do you get the penis back in the sheath if it is swollen. Is there any other way to try and reduce swelling. He is still urinating and is eating and drinking well.

Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Dec 23, 2002 - 10:19 am:

Hello Kathryn,
I will see if I can get some diagrams or photos uploaded to the article today.
DrO
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Dec 23, 2002 - 11:35 am:

I have that information up. It is still a little rough but I ran out of time. Hope it helps.
DrO
Member:
Khandzo

Posted on Monday, Dec 23, 2002 - 6:51 pm:

Dr. O

Thanks for the information and diagrams. It has been helpful. Is the pressure bandaging and massage something that we could do or should it be done by a vet. We made a sling which keeps it elevated as much as possible. He is still able to urinate. We are very frustrated and stuck at this point because there is not much circulation and the sac of fluid is not responding to medicine. The fluid is not going anywhere!!! The area is cold to touch so there is definitely hardly any circulation. Do you know of any other treatment to circulate blood flow in the penile area in attempts to preserve the penis. It seems that heat would make the swelling increase. I am open to any suggestions and resources as we are losing time waiting for the medicine to respond.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 24, 2002 - 6:43 am:

I am perplexed as to why you continue to let time go by without proper treatment. You have known since the 20th what needed to be done, if your current veterinarian is not able to handle the situation you need a referral to someone who can.

I think the veterinarian might have a better idea of how much pressure, with the message and bandaging, could be used and could sedate if necessary (NO ACEPROMAZINE) and would have the other materials necessary and skills to get the penis supported.

I have read a report of only two cases of anesthetic induced paralysis that responded to benztropine mesylate, an anticholinergic drug, used as a one time dose of 8 mg IV. But I have no other information on this drugs use in horses and there have been no reports of it's use for the last 11 years. You should not delay physical treatment in lieu of waiting for this treatment of unknown availability, cost, efficacy, and safety:

J Am Vet Med Assoc 1991 Nov 1;199(9):1183-4
Pharmacologic treatment of priapism in two horses.
Wilson DV, Nickels FA, Williams MA.
Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824.

Benztropine mesylate was used successfully to treat priapism that developed during anesthesia in 2 horses. After IV injection, there was a rapid resolution of signs in both horses, and no side effects were observed. The choice of an effective method to treat priapism is challenging because precise causes in most patients have not been well-defined. Benztropine mesylate is a synthetic compound resulting from the combination of the active portions of atropine and diphenhydramine, and is believed effective because of its central acetyl-choline-antagonizing properties.
DrO
Member:
Khandzo

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 24, 2002 - 7:48 am:

Dr. O -

Thanks for your help. We are looking for a referral physician. The state lab of Equine Health was contacted and they offered no additional information.

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