Equine Surgical Referrals

01/12/2025

Tune in for some open & honest discussions on how sometimes, things can go wrong...... tomorrow at 1930 UK time - FREE for BEVA and AAEP members!

Sinus surgery can be considered an infrequent, stressful but necessary evil - but we can help melt the stress away.

Join Safia Barakzai, Timo Prange and Neil Townsend tomorrow night for a highly informative, interactive discussion on how to maximise our chances of a good outcome.

Sign up for free as a BEVA member - https://bit.ly/3XhBf5u

14/11/2025

Completed! Our 2 day course on upper respiratory tract surgery focused on practical teaching of advanced techniques to ECVS residents and equine surgeons in León, Spain. Thank-you to a fantastic local team led by Deborah Casado, a wonderful bunch of enthusiastic delegates, and my inspiring co-speakers Arianne Campos and Juan Munoz. Sponsored by Humeco and Arthrex who provided us with quality scope kit and disposables. Hard work but well worth it. 🤗🥰

19/10/2025

Last few places available for a hands-on course on equine URT surgery in historic Leon, Spain 13-14th Nov. Suitable for ECVS/ACVS residents and surgeons already doing some URT work. For more Information send an email to:ulehvequidos@unileon.es

23/09/2025

Basil, this handsome 2 y.o. pony Cob, was rescued as a foal by a RVN who I work with at one of my regular referral practices. He only had one decended testicle and I was asked to come to perform a laparoscopic cryptorhidectomy under standing sedation. The right testicle was identified as being abdominally retained using transcutaneous ultrasonography and we removed it successfully using the laparoscope last week. His owner reports that Basil is doing very well post op. 🙂

29/08/2025

A gentleman, teacher and mentor who will be sorely missed.

Get up to date with the latest news from the equine veterinary profession.

15/08/2025

Another laparoscopic assisted ovariectomy: this beautiful Clydesdale mare was not getting in foal. Vet Oliver Chaffey from Tower Equine Veterinary Surgeons examined her and found an enlarged (around 18cm diameter) right o***y. AMH (hormone) tests confirmed that this was likely to be an ovarian granulosa cell tumour. We removed this lesion with the mare standing and sedated using laparoscopic guidance to ligate and divide the ovarian pedicle before removing it via a flank incision. The final photo shows the mare the day following surgery, looking very contented to be fed again!

07/08/2025

24/07/2025

Our new article published in 'In Practice' written with Mel Kamps on 'Standing surgery on the yard'. P.S. it's not about rabbits I promise.... 😉

Background: In general equine practice, many minor standing surgical procedures are commonly done at the owner's or trainer's premises. The growing concept of contextualised care involves considering...

22/07/2025

This 18 y.o. Warmblood mare presented to the referring vet with changed (more aggressive) behaviour and was becoming difficult to manage. They diagnosed a very large (20x25cm) granuloma cell tumour of the right o***y - a type of tumour which secretes excessive amounts of testosterone. Under standing sedation, we used a Ligasure vessel sealer and divider under laparoscopic guidance to ligate and sever the ovarian pedicle and then aspirated over 2 litres of fluid from the o***y before removal via a small flank laparotomy incision. The mare has recovered very well and is back home with her owner, and reportedly the aggressive behaviour towards other horses has already ceased.

07/07/2025

URT surgery course with Drs Arianne Campos (Grosbois), Juan Munoz (Manilva, Spain) and myself - for ECVS/ACVS residents and established surgeons wanting to brush up on skills for laryngoplasty, tie-forward, guttural pouch disorders and sinus surgery. Leon, Spain, 13-14th November 2025. ulehvequidos@unileon.es

12/06/2025

I ran into this 18 y.o. polo mare again yesterday - over a year ago I removed a really huge SCC from the lateral eyelids - and did a reconstruction with some fancy skin flaps and a labial graft. Her eye looks fab now - a small defect there laterally, but the eye is fully functional, no problems with tear film spread and the owners are very happy. Working with Blackdown Equine Clinic on this case.🙂

15/04/2025

Alar fold collapse is a massively under diagnosed cause of expiratory obstruction in all types of performance horses. New science coming from Norway shows that it can really obstruct outflow of air from the lungs and upper respiratory tract. Resection of the alar folds can be performed with the patient sedated and standing, with the area effectively anaesthetised using bilateral nerve blocks.