Secondary approaches to the abdominal cavity for horses with signs of colic may be key to successful resolution of an either very proximal or very distal small colon obstruction

Equine emergency colic surgery is one of the most common surgeries performed. Small colon obstructions (as the cause of the exploratory celiotomy) are relatively infrequently diagnosed (2–5%). The most frequently seen small colon problems are small colon impactions, a small colon faecalith, small colon enterolith(s), small colon lipomas and small colon foreign bodies. Less frequently, a diagnosis of rents in the small colon mesentery, damage to the small colon vascular supply after a foaling accident or intramural masses are made.