Black Diamond Equine offers endoscopic examination of the upper airways and stomach. An endoscope is a long flexible camera which is passed up the horses nose to evaluate the inner surface of the nose, pharynx, guttural pouches, trachea and to examine the lining of the stomach.
Gastroscopy
The most common reason horses present for endoscopy is for evaluation of the stomach for diagnosis and management of gastric ulcers. Horses are fasted for 12-18 hours prior to the procedure to ensure the stomach lining is completely visible. The mucosa of the stomach is examined and our veterinarians can grade ulcers to determine the severity of the lesions. Once the horse has been diagnosed with gastric ulcers, medical therapy can be prescribed to treat the ulcers and get the horse back on track. If gastric ulcers are detected on examination, a recheck endoscopy can be performed at the conclusion of the treatment course to evaluate healing of the lesions.
To learn more about gastric ulcers - check out our blog here.
Upper airway endoscopy
Endoscopy of the upper airways is used to evaluate a wide variety of conditions including respiratory noise, coughing, nasal discharge, swelling of the throat and more. The endoscopy will be used to identify abnormalities of the upper airway or infection and guide a treatment strategy.
Cystoscopy
Abnormalities of the urinary tract can include straining to urinary, increased frequency of urination or blood in the urine. An endoscope can be passed up the urethra into the bladder to evaluate the health of the bladder mucosa and determine if bladder stones are present.
