Laparoscopic Colopexy in Horses

Objective—To describe a technique for laparoscopic colopexy in horses. Study Design—Description of a technique to perform laparoscopic colopexy in horses. Animals —Six healthy adult horses between 3 and 23 years of age and weighing between 440 and 636 kg. Methods—Horses were positioned in dorsal recumbency, and the abdomen was insufflated to an intraabdominal pressure of 15 mm Hg. A laparoscope portal was placed at the umbilicus, and instrument portals were placed cranial to the laparoscope and lateral to midline. The lateral taenia of the left ventral colon was laparoscopically identified and retracted with Babcock forceps to the peritoneal surface and sutured with two strands of size 2 monofilament nylon in a continuous pattern via laparoscopic observation. All horses were euthanatized 90 days after surgery, and the colopexy adhesion was examined histologically. Results—Laparoscopic colopexy was successful in all six horses. There were no intraoperative or postoperative complications. Initial abdominal insufflation to 15 mm Hg required an average of 38 L (range 32 to 46 L) of carbon dioxide and 9.8 minutes (range 9 to 11 minutes) to be completed. A total of 132 L of carbon dioxide (range 64 to 196 L) was needed for the entire procedure. The laparoscopic colopexy procedure required 95 minutes (range 60 to 142 minutes) to perform. Laparoscopic colopexy resulted in a firm, fibrous adhesion of the colon to the abdominal tunic. Microscopically the colopexy adhesion was mature fibrous tissue with no evidence of inflammation. Conclusions —Laparoscopic colopexy can be successfully performed in horses with minimal abdominal invasion.