title: The management of rectal tears in horses.
abstract: Rectal trauma in horses is usually iatrogenic and carries a high mortality. Partial thickness tears heal without surgical assistance. Full thickness tears require surgical repair through the anus or a ventral laparotomy or, if these are not possible because of difficulty in gaining access to the tear in its usual site at the pelvic inlet, a diverting colostomy to allow the rectum to heal is necessary. This paper describes the management of 15 cases of rectal injury, only 3 of which survived. Two of these were partial thickness tears not treated surgically and the third had a temporary diverting colostomy.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003125:Colostomy / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D006736:Horses; D007049:Iatrogenic Disease / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000293:injuries; D008297:Male; D012007:Rectum / Q000293:injuries*; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000601:surgery / Q000662:veterinary