Endoscopic Exams
Sound Equine Veterinary Hospital is equipped with a video endoscopy unit that is used to look inside the body. Endoscopes are long, thin tubes with a camera and light at the end.
They can be inserted through a natural opening or surgical incision to get a clear internal picture of a horse's body to detect abnormalities in greater detail than other technologies.
Instruments can also be passed through channels to take biopsy samples (for microscopic examinations) or remove foreign bodies, cysts, or small tumors.
About Equine Endoscopies
Equine endoscopies can be an important aspect of your horse's health care, examining the upper GI tract, respiratory tract, guttural pouches, facial sinuses, bladder, uterus, and oral cavity.
Images from horse endoscopy exams are saved for your horse's medical records. Horse endoscopies can be done on the farm, provided the conditions are right, or in our Poulsbo clinic.
Diagnostic Benefits of Equine Endoscopies
In addition to diagnostic imaging, we can use endoscopies for a number of other procedures, including:
- Bronchoalveolar lavage
- Tracheal wash
- Biopsy
- Medication administration
- Guttural pouch lavage
Equine Gastroscopy
Gastroscopy describes a complete examination of the two lining tissues of the horse's stomach using a 3.5 m flexible video-endoscope. It is performed under light sedation and images are captured at specific points around the stomach and are graded and defined by type.
If your horse is underperforming, has behavioral changes, has a poor appetite, poor coat condition or pain on girthing, then they may be suffering from gastric ulcers. Using gastroscopy to visualize the horse's stomach, we are able to see whether ulcers are present or not and also which type. Once diagnosed, we can offer the most appropriate treatment.