Original Research Surgical Management of the Trauma-Induced Colocutaneous Fistula in a Horse Saeed Azizi DVM, DVSc, Siamak Kazemi-Darabadi DVM, Esmaeel Bartafteh DVM Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences, Urmia University, West Azarbayjan, Iran article info Article history: Received 5 November 2012 Received in revised form 18 December 2012 Accepted 8 January 2013 Available online 23 February 2013 Keywords: Enterocutaneous fistula Surgical management Horse abstract There are few published reports of equine enterocutaneous fistulae, and they are almost always related to umbilical hernias. Colocutaneous fistula as a result of a penetrating wound has not been reported in horse. In this case report, surgical treatment of a trau- matic colocutaneous fistula in an 8-year-old stallion is described. Under inhalation anesthesia, the fistula was removed completely, and the resultant defect on the left ventral colonic wall was closed. The defect of abdominal wall was closed routinely. The horse regained his previous performance, and no surgical complication was observed at 1 year’s follow-up. Ó 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Fistula is an abnormal passage or communication usually between two internal organs or leading from an organ to the surface of the body [1]. Congenital umbilical hernia and penetrating abdominal trauma can lead to enterocutaneous fistula formation in horse [2]. The occur- rence of enterocutaneous fistula is rare, and most of the reported cases are associated with incarceration of bowel in the umbilical hernias [3]. Penetrating wounds of the abdominal cavity may lead to peritonitis. When the integrity of the intestinal tract is disrupted, severe peritonitis occurs, and, in most cases, if this abnormality is not treated properly, it could result in death of the affected horse [4]. Bristol [5], in a retrospective study, reported that enterocutaneous fistulae could be treated either surgically by using en bloc resection method or by allowing them to heal by second intention. However, in that study, young horses were more commonly affected and fistulae were almost always related to umbilical hernias (16 of 18 cases). To the best of our knowledge, there is no report regarding the occurrence of a horse’s colocu- taneous fistula resulting from a penetrating wound. 2. Case Presentation An 8-year-old horse was presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of Urmia University with an open wound on the ventral abdomen midway between the umbilicus and xiphoid cartilage of the sternum (Fig. 1). The horse was suffering from a gunshot wound that resulted in bullet penetration 2 weeks prior. Meanwhile, the horse had received penicillin G procaine (20,000 IU/kg, IM), dihy- drostreptomycin (10 mg/kg, IM) and phenylbutazone (2 mg/kg, IV) for 3 days. Daily cleansing and irrigation of the lacerated wound with povidone iodine (0.5% aqueous solution) for 5 days was the preliminary treatment as well. The practitioner in a referral clinic recommended surgical intervention when leakage of ingesta had started from the abdominal wound and the aforementioned treatments had failed. Upon admission, the horse underwent routine clinical examinations. The horse had normal appetite. Systematic cardiovascular, respiratory, and gastrointestinal examina- tions revealed normal condition of the horse. On Corresponding author at: Dr. Saeed Azizi, DVM, DVSc, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Department of Clinical Sciences, Nazlou Campus, Daneshghah St, Urmia, West Azarbayjan, Iran. E-mail address: s.azizi@urmia.ac.ir (S. Azizi). Journal of Equine Veterinary Science journal homepage: www.j-evs.com 0737-0806/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2013.01.004 Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 33 (2013) 901-904