1. Introduction
Omphalophlebitis is a pervasive and deleterious pathology encompassing a
broad age span of foals or calves.1-4 Left
undiagnosed, omphalophlebitis frequently results in fatal secondary
complications, such as septic arthritis, physitis, pneumonia, diarrhea,
intraabdominal adhesions, and/or septicemia.1,3-7Treatment options involve broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy which may
be combined with umbilical remnant excision.1,3,6-9Surgical excision reportedly enhances survival rates compared to
antimicrobial treatment alone.6,7
Umbilical remnant excision has been documented employing ventral
celiotomy or laparoscopy.2,5-7,10,11 Omphalophlebitis
cases with liver involvement carry a poorer prognosis, with up to 50%
mortality.1,6,8,12 Umbilical vein marsupialization is
advocated to promote drainage when complete resection cannot be attained
by ventral midline celiotomy or
laparoscopy.1,5,6-9,13,14
A one stage or two stage procedure for umbilical vein marsupialization
have been described in foals and calves.8,9,13,15-18In one-stage marsupialization, the umbilical arteries and urachus are
routinely resected prior to paramedian translocation of the umbilical
vein through a separate incision to the right of
midline.8,13-18 Two-stage marsupialization
incorporates the umbilical vein into the cranial aspect of the incision
and a second procedure is required to remove the umbilical vein remnant
and close the remaining body wall defect.9,13,15,19Advantages and disadvantages of both techniques have been reported, such
as cellulitis at the marsupialization
site.8,9,13-15,17-19 In one report, 46% of calves
developed a hernia at the marsupialization site.14Currently, there are no reports detailing hernia development following
one stage marsupialization of the umbilical vein in foals. This report
describes hernia formation in three foals following one stage umbilical
vein marsupialization for extensive omphalophlebitis.