Laparoscopic cryptorchidectomy in standing horses.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of using laparoscopy to remove cryptorchid testes from standing horses.

STUDY

DESIGN

Prospective clinical study.

ANIMALS OR SAMPLE POPULATION: Eleven client-owned horses ranging in age from 4 months to 2 years.

METHODS

Abdominal insufflation was initiated and maintained using a 20 F insufflation tube, attached via a stopcock, to the low pressure regulator on a standard carbon dioxide pressure tank. After trocar and laparoscope placement in the ipsilateral flank the testes were identified. Local anesthesia of the structures to be manipulated was administered through the instrument channel on the operative laparoscope, using a catheter with a needle attached. Testes were grasped with large laparoscopic forceps and exteriorized through the abdominal wall. Ligation and transection of the mesorchium was extracorporeal. The descended testes were removed using a standard standing technique.

RESULTS

Complications were minor, including mild colic in one horse. The mean surgical time for standing laparoscopic cryptorchidectomy and castration of these colts was 58.9 +/- 24.3 minutes.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Standing laparoscopic cryptorchidectomy, using the instrumentation described, is a safe and practical technique in young horses.