SURGERY: ADVANCING YOUR SKILLS IN THE FIELD AND CLINIC How to Flush Guttural Pouches in the Field Without the Use of an Endoscope Mark T. Reilly, DVM, Diplomate ABVP (Equine) Author’s address: South Shore Equine Clinic and Diagnostic Center, 151 Palmer Road, Plympton, MA 02367; e-mail:
[email protected]. © 2012 AAEP. 1. Introduction The guttural pouch is an anatomical structure unique to perissodactyls, including equids, tapirs, a South American forest mouse, and some species of rhinoceros, bats, and hyraxes.1 Unfortunately, it has also become a medical issue for the horse be- cause this blind-ended sac can hold fluid, infectious debris, and fungal growths. Access to the pouch has historically been difficult for a solo practitioner because it typically requires an endoscope and in- volves two or three assistants. The procedure often Fig. 1. Guttural pouch shown in red (provided by M. S. A. requires sedation for safe endoscopic examination Kumar, BVSc, MVSc, MS, PhD). because there are numerous delicate structures contained therein that could be damaged. This paper will outline a simple way to enter the gut- mainly on the pharynx and also covers and molds to tural pouches, without sedation in most cases, and the retropharyngeal lymph nodes and stylohyoid offer the opportunity to medicate the pouch bone, which presents a raised ridge within the gut- inexpensively. tural pouch and divides it into its lateral and medial compartments. The left and right guttural pouches Anatomy are separated by a thin median septum. Its func- The guttural pouch is an extension of the equine tion is unknown, although it has been hypothesized Eustachian tube that connects the pharynx to the to be associated with pressure equilibration across middle ear.