Equine laryngoplasty sutures undergo increased loading during coughing and swallowing.
OBJECTIVE
To report (1) the force required on a single laryngoplasty suture to achieve optimal abduction of the left arytenoid cartilage, (2) peak forces experienced by the suture during induced swallowing and coughing, and during 24-hour resting activity in a stall, and (3) peak forces during induced swallowing and coughing after left recurrent laryngeal nerve blockade.


METHODS
Experimental study.


METHODS
Horses (n=8).


METHODS
Each laryngoplasty suture was instrumented with an E-type buckle force transducer to measure the force required for optimal intraoperative left arytenoid cartilage abduction. This was correlated with abduction observed postoperatively. Change in suture force from baseline was measured during induced coughing and swallowing, and during normal stall activity.


RESULTS
Optimal intraoperative arytenoid abduction was achieved with a mean (±SD) force of 27.6±7.5 N. During saline-induced swallowing and coughing mean force on the suture increased by 19.0±5.6 N (n=233 measurements; 7 horses) and 12.1±3.6 N (n=31; 4 horses), respectively. Sutures underwent increased loading a mean of 1152 times in 24 hours. No change in suture force was observed with respiratory rhythm.


CONCLUSIONS
Swallowing increases laryngoplasty suture force to a greater extent than coughing.
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Equine Performance Testing Clinic, Cornell University Hospital for Animals, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA. twitte@rvc.ac.uk
Thomas H
TH
Witte
Jon
J
Cheetham
Leo V
LV
Soderholm
Lisa M
LM
Mitchell
Norm G
NG
Ducharme
D000818:Animals; D001193:Arytenoid Cartilage / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D003371:Cough / Q000150:complications / Q000662:veterinary*; D003679:Deglutition; D005260:Female; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D006736:Horses; D058753:Laryngoplasty / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000662:veterinary*; D007830:Larynx / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000662:veterinary; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013536:Suture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000662:veterinary*; D013537:Sutures / Q000592:standards / Q000662:veterinary