Laryngotomy as a treatment for chronic laryngeal obstruction in cattle: a review of 130 cases

Large Animal Surgical Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent, Belgium.

One hundred and thirty cattle with chronic laryngeal obstruction were treated by surgery; the diagnostic and operative techniques are discussed. A simplified technique using local anaesthesia of the laryngeal area was used in sedated calves weighing up to 200 kg. Inhalation anaesthesia through a distal tracheotomy was needed in heavier animals. Complications related to the surgical intervention are described. The animals were reviewed from five months to over one year after discharge from the clinic. The long term survival rate of the 130 animals was 58 per cent. The results after surgery were excellent in 40.9 per cent and good in 15.2 per cent of the animals.