Can a practitioner predict a horse’s chances of survival after colic surgery? Not with absolute certainty, but several factors can help that prediction, said Anthony Blikslager, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVS, associate professor of equine surgery at North Carolina State University’s (NCSU) College of Veterinary Medicine. Blikslager discussed this topic at the 43rd British Equine Veterinary Association Congress, held Sept. 15-18 in Birmingham, U.K.

“Recent studies at NCSU suggest that, of horses presenting for evaluation of colic that go to surgery, approximately 25% are lost at surgery based on the severity of the lesion, including gastrointestinal rupture, and devitalized bowel beyond accessible regions via a midline laparotomy,” he said. “Of the horses that are recovered, approximately 80% will ultimately be discharged, after which a further 10-15% will be lost because of long-term complications.”

Blikslager noted that out of 259 surgical colics in one study, more than 50% of the fatalities occurred in the early postoperative period (first 7-10-days following surgery), and postoperative ileus (intestinal obstruction) and shock accounted for 70% of those deaths. In another study, ileus accounted for 40% of the postoperative deaths