News Notes

Slitted Mesh Appears Safe, Effective for Indirect Inquinal Herniation

The use of slitted mesh appears to be a safe and effective technique for preventing the recurrence of indirect inguinal herniation (IIH) in stallions.

IIH is a potentially life-threatening condition. The ideal preventive measure for breeding stallions ensures a minimally invasive closure of the vaginal ring that avoids recurrence of IIH while preserving both testicles.

In this retrospective case series, researchers described a novel, minimally invasive laparoscopic tacked intraperitoneal slitted mesh (TISM) technique in the standing horse to close the vaginal rings. They evaluated its efficacy in preventing recurrence of IIH in 17 stallions.

In total, 32 laparoscopic vaginal rings closures were performed in 17 horses between 3 and 10 years of age. The IIH was reduced by manual reduction in 14 horses and at laparotomy in 3 horses. No intestinal resection was performed in any case. The vaginal ring closure was performed between 5 and 37 days (median 14 days) after reduction in horses that did not undergo laparotomy, and between 28 and 67 days (median 42 days) after reduction in horses that underwent laparotomy.

No major intra- or postoperative complications occurred. Inguinal herniation did not occur in any of the horses following the procedure. Nine of the 13 active stallions returned to breeding, with similar semen quality as before treatment. The remainder were scheduled to resume breeding during the next season. No horse was castrated, and no owner reported abnormal size or shape of the testicles following the procedure. In 3 stallions, post-operative pain and activity limitations were noted but gradually resolved after 6 months.

For more information:

Wilderjans H, Meulyzer M. Laparoscopic closure of the vaginal rings in the standing horse using a tacked intraperitoneal slitted mesh (TISM) technique. Equine Vet J. 17 2021 April 17. https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.13454 https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/evj.13454