SAEVA Congress 2018 Proceedings | 12-15 February 2018 | ATKV Goudini Spa
walls is most frequently detected in the ventral portion of the abdomen , as the increased weight of these loops brings them in contact with the ventral portion of the abdomen . Amotile edematous loops of small intestine have been imaged in the right side of the abdomen in horses with epiploic foramen entrapment of the small intestine . Mucosal thickening of the wall of the strangulated loops of small intestine is usually less echoic than wall thickening associated with a cellular infiltration , fibrosis or hypertrophy of the intestinal wall , usually seen in nonstrangulating lesions . Surgical intervention was indicated in one study of horses with colic when edematous small intestine was imaged in conjunction with decreased small intestinal motility .
Small intestinal distention & ileus with epiploic foramen entrapment Strangulating lesions of the small colon
Increased wall thickness of the small colon and intestinal distention have been reported in several horses with strangulating lesions in the small colon caused by a pedunculated lipoma using transrectal ultrasonography . Transabdominal ultrasonography has been useful in diagnosing strangulating lesions in the small colon in miniature horses .
Impaction An impaction can often be imaged from the flank or side of the abdomen in horses with cecal or right dorsal colon impactions . Small colon impactions may be imaged transrectally , when scanning the caudal abdomen , as echogenic intraluminal masses . Distension of the more proximal portion of intestine , proximal to an impaction , is usually present , making ultrasonographic visualization of the impaction easier . Small colon impactions have also been imaged from the flank in miniature horses . Impactions can only be imaged sonographically when the impacted portion of the large colon or cecum is adjacent to the body wall or fluid is interposed between the affected portion of the intestine and the body wall . The impaction appears as a round to oval amotile distended viscus , often measuring 20 - 30 cm or more , lacking any visible sacculations . The bowel wall may be normal thickness or may be thicker than normal and there is a large acoustic shadow cast from the impacted ingesta adjacent to the colonic mucosa . In larger horses , small or large colon impactions can be imaged transrectally if palpable .
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