anew shot in Equine Surgery

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A new sterilization technique that leaves a stallion's testicles in place but nonfunctioning might provide a safe, simple, and reliable alternative to traditional castration methods, according to Iranian researchers.
In the "Section-Ligation-Release" (SLR) procedure, a horse's testicles are not extracted as in standard castration tech-niques. Instead, the two spermatic cords, which provide blood and nerve supply to the testicles, are clamped, severed, and sealed via a 2-inch incision on each side of the scrotum. Within two months, the intact testicles degenerate, and tes-tosterone falls to levels similar to those of traditionally castrated geldings, according to the researchers, whose study is scheduled for publication in a forthcoming issue of Reproduction in Domestic Animals.
"It's just two small incisions followed by a few minutes of manipulation on the spermatic cords, and then you close up the wounds and it's done," said study author Siamak Saifzadeh, DVM, PhD, associate professor of veterinary surgery at Ur-mia University in Urmia, Iran. "It's so easy," he said--both for the horse and the horse's caretakers, as SLR requires less postoperative care than traditional castration.
The technique requires less postoperative care than traditional castration.
The new technique reduces the risk of postoperative bleeding and severe swelling at the incision sites or in the prepuce, which are common complications of standard castrations, Saifzadeh said. Risks of parasite and bacterial infections are also reduced in the SLR technique, he said.
The oxygen-deprived testicles gradually shrink and become a mass of benign fibrous tissue, whereas the surrounding tissues remain healthy and well-supplied with blood and nerves, Saifzadeh said. None of the five study stallions, aged 2 to 4 years, presented evidence of spermatic cord reattachment in the months following the procedure, according to the article.
However, he noted that in order to distinguish SLR geldings from stallions, especially in the event of the sale of a horse, the castration must be noted in the horse's health records and identification documents.
Although the procedure is faster and less invasive than a standard castration, Saifzadeh said, SLR should nonetheless always be performed under general anesthesia for the safety of both the horse and the veterinarian.

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