Metallic foreign bodies in the tongues of 16 horses

Abstract

The history, clinical signs, results of diagnostic imaging, treatment methods and outcome of 16 adult horses with a metallic foreign body in the tongue are reviewed. All the horses had a swollen tongue, they salivated excessively and were partially to completely anorexic. Less common clinical signs were fever, an enlarged and painful intermandibular space, dysphagia, unilateral tongue paralysis and halitosis. Most of the horses had shown clinical signs for less than 24 hours. The foreign bodies were diagnosed by oral examination, radiography and ultrasonography; they were removed from the tongue of four of the horses during the initial oral examination, and were removed surgically from nine others; the other three horses were treated medically without attempts being made to extract the foreign bodies. Twelve of the bodies were small pieces of wire and one was a hypodermic needle. All the horses received a combination of antimicrobial and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and they all made an uneventful recovery. Feeding hay and the use of cable-framed tractor tyres as feeders were commonly associated with the cases.

Perforation of the gastrointestinal tracts of four horses by metallic wires

“…A previous study found metallic wires (4 to 12 cm in length) in the tongues of 16 horses, but the authors did not report whether the lower alimentary tract was also affected (Pusterla and others 2006). In the present study, the upper alimentary tract was unaffected by metallic wires of similar length (4 to 8 cm in length) that affected the lower alimentary tract only.…”

“…A previous report linked feeding out of cable-framed tractor tyres with metallic foreign body penetration of horses' tongues (Pusterla and others 2006). In the present report, although no specific geographical or management factors could be identified, the authors speculated that metallic wire was inadvertently included as a result of the bailing process.…”

“…METALLIC foreign bodies affecting the upper alimentary tract of horses have been reported by Bayly and Robertson (1982), Kiper and others (1992), Baum and others (1998) and Pusterla and others (2006), but there is less information about the effects of the penetration of the intestine by metallic wires (Dobson and Lopez 1981, Davies 1983). Horses tend to be more selective when grazing than ruminants.…”

Wooden, metallic, hair, bone, and plant foreign bodies in horses: 37 cases (1990-2005)

“…Because many foreign bodies are radiolucent (ie, wood, hair, or plant material), a contrast fistulogram may provide additional information in the form of a filling defect. 6 Surgical removal of foreign bodies comes with unique challenges because the presence of a foreign body cannot always be confirmed prior to surgery. In our study, foreign body location did not affect the sensitivity of plain film radiography; only metallic foreign bodies were visible regardless of location.…”

“…6 An incision is then made along the path of the needle to remove the foreign body. These were readily diagnosed with plain film radiography, so preoperative diagnosis was not as challenging as for nonradiopaque foreign bodies.…”