The surgery facility at Conley and Koontz Equine Hospital consists of two surgery suites with adjacent padded recovery rooms providing efficient transportation to/and from surgery. The staff surgeon, Ryan Rothenbuhler, at Conley and Koontz Equine Hospital is knowledgeable, innovative, and well equipped to provide excellent surgical services, and handle a high volume of orthopedic, soft tissue, and emergency surgeries annually. With the help of our support staff, we perform preoperative planning, anesthesia, surgical preparation, surgery, recovery, and postoperative convalescence. Our hospital offers various types of orthopedic and soft tissue surgical procedures.
Examples of Surgical Services Provided:
Arthroscopy Arthroscopy is a minimally invasive camera-assisted surgery in joints, bursa, or tendon sheaths. It is used to remove bone chips, treat OCD, or to address joint or tendon sheath infections. Whether you are preparing your horse for show, the races, or for the sales, Conley and Koontz Equine Hospital has the equipment and knowledge to help achieve your goals.
Orthopedic Surgery Many fractures can now be repaired in horses. Most fractures can be repaired by internal fixation using bone screws and plates. We have many minimally invasive techniques for the repair of most orthopedic conditions in the horse.
Abdominal(Colic) Surgery Although most cases of colic don't require surgery, occasionally the bowel displaces, entraps, or twists leading to a serious abdominal crisis. Sometimes we can fix the problem by just repositioning the bowel, but sometimes it requires removing the devitalized bowel and reconnecting the healthy bowel together.
Once your horse has recovered from surgery they frequently stay in our hospital 5-7 days for fluids and observation. Over the next 2-3 months they will complete the rest of their convalescence at home. After the first 90 days, your horse has very little chance of suffering complications related to the colic surgery.
Respiratory Surgery Soft palate and laryngeal problems are very common in today's sport horse. Many of these conditions are amenable to surgery. Conditions that we can perform surgery for include: displacement of the soft palate, laryngeal hemiplegia (roarer), epiglottic entrapment, conditions of the nasal cavity and sinuses, and conditions of the trachea.
Reproductive Surgery The most common reproductive surgery that we perform in the horse is the castration. Traditionally we have left the scrotum open to heal. New techniques allow us to close the scrotum after the castration, simplifying the aftercare of the horse and allowing them to heal faster as well as allowing you to spend less time enforcing exercise, cold-water hosing, and worry whether the incisions are still open to drain.
We perform many surgeries in the mare. These include: cervical laceration repair, rectovaginal tear repair, ovariectomy, oocyte collection, and emergency/elective cesarean sections.
General Soft Tissue There are various general soft tissue surgeries that we perform in the horse at Conley and Koontz Equine Hospital. These include: enucleation, neurectomy, tumor removal, hernia repair, bladder surgery, umbilical surgery, wound and laceration repair, and scar revision.
Angular/Flexural Limb Deformities As your horse grows and develops, angular limb deformities or flexural limb deformities may be a concern. If you think that your horse is developing a problem, it is imperative that we see your horse as soon as possible. Most limb deformities if treated early can have a successful outcome. We have various minimally invasive techniques to treat these deformities.