Complication Rates following Equine Elective Arthroscopy: Comparison of Inpatient Versus Outpatient Surgery

Introduction: To report the complications following elective arthroscopic surgery in horses and to determine whether surgery performed on an outpatient basis increases postoperative complication rates.

Materials and Methods: Three hundred and fifty-seven horses (366 surgical procedures) were included in this retrospective case series. These horses had arthroscopic surgery performed at a single institution between January 2008 and February 2015. Data included signalment, travel time to the hospital, clinical signs, joint(s) operated on, lesion(s) diagnosed, medications administered, anaesthesia and surgery times, details of the procedure (including closure and surgeons involved), and hospitalization status. Inpatients were horses that remained hospitalized overnight, while outpatients were discharged in the afternoon following surgery. These were analysed together with follow-up information to identify factors associated with postoperative complications.

Results: One hundred and sixty-eight outpatient surgical procedures (47%) and 198 inpatient surgical procedures (53%) were included. Standardbreds were overrepresented in the outpatient group (p = 0.016). Anaesthesia and surgery times were longer (p < 0.001) for the inpatient group. Complications present in the study population included bandage sores, catheter problems, colic, diarrhoea, postoperative discomfort, esophageal impaction, fever, incisional drainage, post-anaesthetic myopathy, persistent synovitis, persistent lameness, septic arthritis, and osteochondral fragments not removed during the original surgery. None of these complications were associated with postoperative discharge times.

Discussion/Conclusion: Elective arthroscopy in horses can be performed safely and without any increase in complications on an outpatient basis.

Acknowledgement: There was no proprietary interest or funding provided for this project.