Vaginal evisceration of the small intestine in three mares.

Three mares were treated for vaginal evisceration of a portion of the small intestine. Evisceration occurred in 2 mares shortly after breeding accidents in which the stallion's penis penetrated the vaginal fornix dorsal to the cervix. The affected bowel was replaced through the laceration, and the vaginal defects were sutured with the mares standing, utilizing epidural anesthesia. One mare recovered without complications, was subsequently bred, and delivered a foal with no difficulty. The other mare developed signs of a strangulating small intestinal obstruction 24 hours after the injury, necessitating exploratory celiotomy. Two meters of small intestine had become devitalized secondary to avulsion of the mesentery and adjacent vascular supply during the evisceration. The affected portion was resected and a jejunocecostomy was performed. Recovery was uncomplicated and 21 months later the mare was 9 months in foal. A third mare was treated unsuccessfully for evisceration of several meters of small intestine through the external urethral orifice after rupture of the urinary bladder.