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  Discussion on 2 month old foal with umbilical hernia
Author Message
Member:
Eron

Posted on Friday, Jul 7, 2006 - 4:25 pm:

I am worried sick about one of my foals and I am hoping that other members can help with advice. I have a 2 month old colt that was just diagnosed with an umbilical hernia. I am new to the whole breeding buisness so I am unfamilliar with this. At this moment you can stick about 1-2 fingers in the hole. My vet said he would need to have surgery. My questions are this.....

Is there a risk that the "hole" will get smaller and trap pieces of the bowel??? ( this is the part that makes me very worried)

Is it safe to wait untill the foal is a yearling for surgery or is it better to go ahead and have it done at weaning time.

My vet has suggested that I "push" back the contents into the hole each day to see if the hole is getting any smaller....is this normal procedure???

Is there anything else I need to know???

Thank you so much
Member:
Twhgait

Posted on Friday, Jul 7, 2006 - 10:51 pm:

Peter, my 2005 colt was born with a large scrotal hernia...same diagnosis, different area. My vet also recommended surgery due to the size of it but wanted to do a consult with another clinic first. In the meantime my colt's hernia constantly buldged and I too was told to push the intestine back into his body and we hoped that the hole would grow smaller and we could avoid surgery. I did do the surgery at 8 days of age as he was developing scar tissue around the hernia opening AND as he was growing and getting stronger, it was getting more and more difficult to manipulate the intestine back in. We had a few bumps in the road to recovery (infection) but everything worked out great and today he is a happy, healthy 13 month old gelding (they gelded him while they were "down there"). Yes, there is the risk of bowel falling into the hole and incarcerating. I know for me, it was a huge task....always running out there and stuffing things back in only to have him stand up and the hernia buldge again. By the time surgery rolled around, I was more then ready to do it. My advise is to do it sooner rather then later. It's alot easier to work with a weanling then a yearling post operatively (in case there will be post op antibiotics or wound care). Also, you may end up with the same situation I did-the scar tissue and infection developing around the hernia. From what I understand from the surgeon, it was quite an extensive repair on one side because of this. DrO can provide much more insight, but I wanted to share my own personal experience.
Member:
Eron

Posted on Saturday, Jul 8, 2006 - 4:40 am:

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I also thought that I would geld him at the same time thats why I was wondering if it was safe to wait until he is a yearling. However I think you are right....the sooner I get it over with the better.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Jul 8, 2006 - 9:38 am:

Hello Peter,
It is not that the hole gets smaller trapping intestines, it is that the intestines enter the hole in a manner that prevents exit of ingesta and swell trapping them in the hole. The problem is real and at 2 fingers width surgery may be necessary if this does not close on it's own. The question is how long to wait, risking complications until fixed. This is best determined by examining the hernia and making a best guess at the risk. Size of the hole, shape and size of the hernia all figure in. And yes, gently manipulating the contents back when they protrude is a recommended procedure.
DrO
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