Received: 23 July 2023 DOI: 10.1111/eve.13983_1
C A S E R E POR T
Complete abdominal wall rupture in a late- term pregnant mare with pre- existing prepubic tendon rupture
Jessica Timmins 1 | Rebecca Ruby 2 | David Wong 2 | Nyomi Galow 2 | Alex Gillen 2
1 Philip Leverhulme Equine Hospital , University of Liverpool , Neston , UK 2 Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center, College of Veterinary Medicine , Iowa State University , Ames , Iowa , USA
Correspondence: Alex Gillen Email:
alexandra.gillen@
liverpool.ac.uk
SUMMARY
A 15- year- old Quarter Horse mare with a prepubic tendon rup- ture sustained during a previous pregnancy was presented at 310 days gestation for mild colic. The owner declared the foal to be the case priority. On examination, the mare was dull, in- appetant and displaying mild colic signs. Vaginal examination revealed that the cervix was dilated 4 cm longitudinally and more open than was consistent with the stage of pregnancy. Transabdominal ultrasonography confirmed a live fetus with a normal heart rate, and no evidence of placental separation. The mare ' s ventral abdominal musculature exhibited oedema ventral to the rectus abdominis. No mammary secretions were present. The mare was considered high risk for abdominal herniation, colic and abortion. The mare was maintained on box rest and analgesia was provided with flunixin meglumine. Given the likelihood of im- pending premature foaling, dexamethasone was used once daily for two doses of 0.1 mg/kg bwt intravenously, in an attempt to
| Accepted: 11 April 2024
mature the foal. Thirty- six hours following presentation, the mare exhibited moderate colic signs. As she was considered highly un- likely to carry the pregnancy to term, consent was obtained for a terminal caesarean section. Immediately prior to induction of anaesthesia there was a complete loss of integrity of the body wall with rupture of skin and muscles, leading to eventration of abdominal contents. Immediate euthanasia was performed alongside concurrent modified terminal caesarean section. The foal was alive but required resuscitation and demonstrated physi- cal symptoms of prematurity. The foal was euthanised following 3 days of intensive care due to inability to breathe independently.
K E YWORDS horse , pregnancy , prepubic , rupture , tendon
Key points
• Mares that have sustained prepubic tendon rupture should not carry subsequent pregnancies due to the risk of abdominal wall failure. If the mare is of important ge- netic value advanced reproductive techniques such as embryo transfer should be considered.
• Longitudinal dilation of the cervix in the late- pregnant mare may represent loss of ventral support for the repro- ductive tract.
FIGURE 1 Prepubic tendon rupture with marked alteration to the ventral abdominal contour.
• In mares with a prepubic tendon rupture, forward plan- ning regarding parturition is essential.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2024 The Authors. Equine Veterinary Education published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of EVJ Ltd.
Equine Vet Educ. 2024;36:565.
aaep.org/wiley-redirect | 565
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