Esophageal Disorders
Esophageal Obstruction
Esophageal obstruction is commonly called “____________________ ”. Unlike in people, choke does not refer to the obstruction of the _____________________ , and horses that are choking are fully able to breath. It occurs when a mass of food or a foreign object lodges in the esophagus as it exceeds the diameter of the lumen, blocking the passage of food from the mouth to the stomach. Horses that __________________ their food, those with poor dental health or those fed large chunks of hard foods are at a higher risk of esophageal obstruction. Some horses that suffer from esophageal strictures or narrowing are also predisposed to choke. Esophageal obstruction is seen clinically as neck stretching, retching, sweating, colic signs, anxiety, drooling, regurgitation of food through the nostrils, dysphasia/anaphagia, palpable mass in esophagus and increased respiration and heart rate. Diagnosis of esophageal obstruction is made through clinical signs and symptoms, palpation of the esophagus, passing a nasogastric tube, endoscopy and exploratory incision into the esophagus. Treatment involved esophageal _________________ , massage to the esophageal region, the administration of muscle relaxants and NSAID’s or trans esophageal incision to remove the mass. Horses must be feed only _________________ for forty-eight hours after recovery from esophageal obstruction to allow inflammation of the esophagus to subside. Prevention includes proper dental care, feeding small amounts of feed, moistening the feed, adding stones to feed to slow the horse down. Horses who suffer from choke regularly should be examined for strictures, scaring or tumors.
Esophageal Strictures
Esophageal strictures describes the _________________ of the esophagus due to inflammation or scarring. This is often caused by prolonged ________________ or repeated episodes of choking. Tumors are a rare cause. A stricture is caused by swelling of the mucosal and/or muscular layers of the esophagus, which may lead to more episodes of choke which will predispose for more strictures and so a cycle develops. This will eventually lead to the development of scar tissue predisposing for permanent strictures. Signs & symptoms are repeated episodes of choke and inflammation or scarring of the esophagus upon visual examination.
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