Surgery of the Equine Upper Respiratory Tract: Focus on Dynamic Disorders

Dynamic conditions of the upper respiratory tract in the horse are being increasingly diagnosed across multiple disciplines with the improved diagnostic abilities in over ground endoscopy. Numerous conditions including palatal malfunction, pharyngeal wall collapse, vocal cord collapse, axial deviation of the aryepiglottic folds, intermittent epiglottic entrapment, and arytenoid dysfunction have been described as primarily dynamic conditions. 1 Other conditions such as laryngeal hemiplegia can be diagnosed with resting endoscopy, but its affect on airway patency can be variable dynamically. Today’s presentation will follow the previous discussion by Dr. Hackett on dynamic endoscopy and is meant to be review of surgical treatment of these dynamic conditions, particularly focusing on treatment options, post operative management, complications and outcomes.