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In this Episode:
Series 1 Episode Guide:
Super Vets
Donni the horse was referred to the Sefton Equine Hospital after an accident. He had a very sore mouth and his vet was concerned that the jaw bone was broken.
Vets Justin Perkins and Matt Smith examined Donnie and x-rayed his jaw to confirm that it was fractured. It was a comminuted fracture (in several pieces) that involved all the incisor teeth . This type of fracture will not heal properly without surgery.
There is a relatively high risk of complication during equine anaesthesia, compared to human anaesthesia. The vets decided that it would be possible to fix Donnie’s fracture under sedation but without general anaesthesia - thus reducing the risk of complications.
Donni was sedated to ensure he would stand quietly and not move during the surgery. The sedative provided some pain relief but to ensure that Donni didn’t feel any pain at all during the surgery, a local anaesthetic which blocks nerves was used as well.
The surgery went very well. A series of wires were used to pull the fractured part of the jaw back into position and secure it there.
Donni recovered very well from his surgery and was discharged after a couple of day as he was eating normally again.
One month after his surgery Donni returned to the Equine Hospital for a check-up. His jaw was x-rayed again and the fracture had healed well. The wires were cut and removed - however this is not as easy as it sounds, as the wires were now embedded in the gums and teeth.
Donni suffered no ill-effects after having the wires removed and went home to live life as normal.
