Received: 27 January 2023 | Accepted: 5 June 2023 DOI: 10.1111/eve.13850_1


C A S E R E POR T Caudal ventral midline herniation in a foal


Sofia Ramos | Nazaré Storms | Maxime Vandersmissen | Julien Dupont | Geoffroy de la Rebière Clinical Department of Equids, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine , University of Liege , Liège , Belgium


Correspondence : Sofia Ramos Email: ascramos@uliege.be


SUMMARY


A 1- month- old Beberbe breed male foal was presented with unremarkable general physical examination, except for a large, focal, non- painful swelling, enlarging since the foaling, starting slightly caudal to the intact umbilicus and extending over the prepuce. An inguinal hernia was presumed since it was impossible to reduce or demarcate the inguinal ring given the large amount of content. After positioning the foal in dor- sal recumbency the hernial content was gently massaged for manual reduction assisted by gravity. At this time, it was no- ticed that the intestinal mass in the hernia did not originate from the inguinal rings but from a complete division of the linea alba , caudally to the intact umbilicus and extending cau- dally towards the pubis (Figure 1). This congenital abdominal hernia was corrected by performing a ventral midline closed


(a) (b)


herniorrhaphy. Complications postoperatively included fever and an abscess that was diagnosed and surgically drained. The bacterial culture showed the presence of Enterococcus faecalis and the antibiotic therapy was changed according to sensitivity testing. The foal recovered without major compli- cations. One year later, the foal was presented to the hospital for a follow- up with a full clinical examination. No abnormali- ties were observed and a very satisfying aesthetical result was noticed. Herniation of this dimension due to a muscle wall default has not been previously reported in foals. A third type of congenital ventral body wall hernia should be consid- ered for the differential diagnosis of swelling of the preputial area in foals.


K E YWORDS horse , abdomen , congenital , hernia , surgery


Key points


• Besides inguinal and umbilical hernia, a third type of con- genital hernia should be considered in the differential di- agnosis of swelling of the preputial area.


• Deep palpation under dorsal recumbency and/or preop- erative ultrasound could have allowed more precise pre- operative planning (and aetiology).


FIGURE 1 Foal in dorsal recumbency under general anaesthesia presenting a large (14 cm long × 16 cm wide) abdominal hernia caudal to the umbilicus, dorsal view.


• Subsequent to such surgical intervention with large sub- cutaneous dissection with substantial dead space, the presence of seroma and/or abscess should be anticipated.


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