Rectal prolapse after trauma to the vagina during foaling
Keywords: foaling, trauma, rectum, prolapse, intussusception
A pony mare foaled approximately 48 hours before these photographs were taken. The foal (shown in the inset image) had hind-limb arthrogryposis and only lived for short time after birth.
Two hours after parturition, the mare's rectum prolapsed and was reinserted by an attending veterinarian. A circumferential retention suture was placed around the anus. Shortly afterwards, the mare began to show signs of shock and severe pain. She was euthanized.
The top image shows how the end of the rectal intussusception has come to lie within the caudal part of the rectum. A finger has been inserted into the end of the intussusception. The anus is indicated by the yellow arrow. The vulva lips can be seen just below the tail of that arrow. U indicates the uterus. To assist one in understanding this image, a smaller color coded version has been created beneath it.
Image size: 1451 x 942px
Image size: 726 x 471px
In this color coded image, the section of rectum that contains the intussusception is colored red and the intussusception itself is colored blue. The wall of the unaffected rectum is colored yellow.
One presumes that the rectal intussusception was a sequel to a painful birth and straining, possibly because of trauma to the soft birth canal caused by the deformed fetus. However the uterus, cervix (green arrow) and vagina only showed the degree of contusion pictured below. Many would consider that to be consistent with normal foaling so the cause of straining remained uncertain.
Image size: 1468 x 1040px
A pony mare foaled approximately 48 hours before these photographs were taken. The foal (shown in the inset image) had hind-limb arthrogryposis and only lived for short time after birth.
Two hours after parturition, the mare's rectum prolapsed and was reinserted by an attending veterinarian. A circumferential retention suture was placed around the anus. Shortly afterwards, the mare began to show signs of shock and severe pain. She was euthanized.
The top image shows how the end of the rectal intussusception has come to lie within the caudal part of the rectum. A finger has been inserted into the end of the intussusception. The anus is indicated by the yellow arrow. The vulva lips can be seen just below the tail of that arrow. U indicates the uterus. To assist one in understanding this image, a smaller color coded version has been created beneath it.
Image size: 726 x 471px
In this color coded image, the section of rectum that contains the intussusception is colored red and the intussusception itself is colored blue. The wall of the unaffected rectum is colored yellow.
One presumes that the rectal intussusception was a sequel to a painful birth and straining, possibly because of trauma to the soft birth canal caused by the deformed fetus. However the uterus, cervix (green arrow) and vagina only showed the degree of contusion pictured below. Many would consider that to be consistent with normal foaling so the cause of straining remained uncertain.
Image size: 1468 x 1040px
