How Can Ultrasonography Improve My Results of Surgery

Ultrasonography (US) is commonly used in the pre- and post-operative management of a large number of equine surgical conditions but more rarely intra-operatively. On the contrary, intra-operative US has been used extensively in human surgery for various minimally-invasive and open procedures. Although its real-time capabilities allow continuous observation of an instrument/needle in the soft tissue, only a few reports have highlighted the potential of intra-operative US in equine surgery during the last 20 years1-7. Fluoroscopy and digital radiography are commonly used during orthopaedic surgical procedures involving bone and joint in horses. US is a radiation-free imaging tool completely safe for the surgeon, assisting operators and animal. It has the capability to provide the surgeon with instantaneous 2+1D information on soft tissue but also on bone surface.

Materials required
Ultrasound machine, transducer(s), sterile sheath, sterile paper clip, surgical pen, acoustic coupling gel, hydrosoluble sterile gel, needles and staples.

Procedure preparation
Sterilisation of the US transducer is not practical. However, a clean transducer, placed in a protective sterile sheath filled with acoustic coupling gel, can be safely used in the surgical field. The transducer is connected to the ultrasound machine with the screen orientated to allow comfortable visualization by the operator. Alcohol (intact skin) or hydrosoluble sterile gel (wound) is applied to improve contact and image formation. Blood is a good conductor of the ultrasound beam; therefore when present, it does not alter the quality of the image. Gas within the soft tissue can seriously alter image formation. Pre-operative scanning is an important step to allow familiarisation with the area of interest and to decrease surgery time.  [...]