How to Use a Safety Hook Knife to Treat Epiglottal Entrapment in the Horse

1. Introduction
Epiglottal entrapment was described as a dorsal displacement of the subepiglottal mucosa with the ary-epiglottic folds through the epiglottis >30 yr ago (Fig. 1).¹ It is a common cause of abnormal respiratory noise and exercise intolerance, especially with racehorses.²  Some pathologies of the epiglottis, such as hypoplasia, inflammation, and swelling of the subepiglottic tissues, can induce entrapment.^3–5  Epiglottic entrapment may be intermittent or permanent. Short-term epiglottic entrapment may be cured by anti-inflammatory treatments, but most cases will need surgery to improve racing performances.⁴

The goal of the surgery is to free the epiglottis from the mucosa. Several surgical methods have been described in the literature.⁴ [...]