Standing Surgery Options

With the advancement of surgical techniques and anesthesia options, there are now several new surgical techniques that can be performed with the horse in a standing and sedated position as oppose to traditional general anesthesia. Two exciting examples of this are the procedure to relieve chronic back pain from kissing spine syndrome and the procedure to open the airway through tying back the lazy side of the larynx that occurs in some racehorses and draft horses. With the development of these techniques, Dr. Bell is now able to offer both procedures via the standing option. If you are interested in learning more about these procedure, please contact us for further details and to book a consultative appointment

​

We can offer standing procedures for the treatment and management of several upper airway surgical conditions.

1. Sternothyroideus tenectomy (Cutting the strap muscles) - this procedure is performed to assist with the prevention of recurrent dorsal displacement of the soft palate (aka "flipping the palate" or "swallowing the tongue"). Dr. Bell can perform this procedure without the need for traditional general anesthesia while the horse is standing and sedated in a set of stocks at the hospital. This allows for a much quieter procedure and minimizes risk to the horse from general anesthesia recovery.

2. Prosthetic Laryngoplasty (Tie-Back) - this procedure is performed to correct a paralyzed larynx (most commonly paralyzed on the left side). This procedure usually requires general anesthesia to perform, however, Dr. Bell is now performing tie backs on draft horses under standing sedation. Other horses may also be elective candidates for standing tie-back as well. By performing this complicated procedure standing, the risks to the horse are dramatically less compared to general anesthesia in draft breed horses. This technique greatly reduces risks during anesthesia and decreases complications post operatively.

Dr. Bell is available to discuss these options and encourages those interested in having either procedure performed to give us a call for consultation.