Gandini Marco, Bertone Cristina, Giusto Gessica
Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin,10095 Grugliasco, Italy.
Vet Sci. 2025 Jul 31;12(8):720. doi: 10.3390/vetsci12080720.
Castration remains a common surgical procedure in equids, yet postoperative complications such as hemorrhage, infection, and eventration persist, influencing surgical outcomes. This retrospective study introduced a novel modified semi-closed castration technique aimed at minimizing these complications. Eighty-five sexually intact mature male equids (including horses, ponies, and donkeys) underwent the described inguinal castration procedure under general anesthesia. The technique involved a carefully managed opening and subsequent secure closure of the parietal vaginal tunic, enabling direct inspection of tunic contents while reducing risks associated with fully open or closed approaches. The median surgery duration was 60 min (range, 45-95), with no intraoperative complications. Postoperatively, only two equids (2.35%) exhibited scrotal swelling, which was resolved rapidly with NSAIDs. No cases of hemorrhage, pyrexia, or infection occurred. Follow-up, conducted via owner interviews after a minimum of three months, confirmed complete recovery and primary intention healing in all patients, who returned to normal activity within two days post-surgery. Compared to previously documented complication rates ranging from 2% to 48%, the present approach demonstrates superior results. Additionally, this study proposes refining existing castration technique classifications, focusing explicitly on the vaginal tunic's status post-procedure (open, semi-closed, closed) for clarity and consistency. This novel semi-closed inguinal technique effectively integrates inspection advantages with closed technique safety, offering significantly reduced complication rates and enhanced postoperative recovery profiles in equids undergoing castration.
去势术在马属动物中仍然是一种常见的外科手术，但术后并发症如出血、感染和肠疝持续存在，影响手术效果。这项回顾性研究引入了一种新型改良半封闭式去势技术，旨在尽量减少这些并发症。85匹性成熟的雄性马属动物（包括马、矮种马和驴）在全身麻醉下接受了所述的腹股沟去势手术。该技术包括小心地打开并随后牢固地闭合腹膜鞘膜，以便直接检查鞘膜内容物，同时降低与完全开放或闭合方法相关的风险。手术中位持续时间为60分钟（范围45 - 95分钟），无术中并发症。术后，只有两匹马属动物（2.35%）出现阴囊肿胀，使用非甾体抗炎药后迅速消退。未发生出血、发热或感染病例。通过至少三个月后对主人的访谈进行随访，证实所有患者均完全康复且一期愈合，术后两天内恢复正常活动。与先前记录的2%至48%的并发症发生率相比，目前的方法显示出更好的结果。此外，本研究建议完善现有的去势技术分类，明确关注术后腹膜鞘膜的状态（开放、半封闭、封闭），以确保清晰和一致。这种新型半封闭式腹股沟技术有效地将检查优势与封闭技术的安全性相结合，为接受去势手术的马属动物显著降低了并发症发生率，并改善了术后恢复情况。
