Acute Renal Failure and Laminitis Following Cesarean Section in a Friesian Mare. A Case Report

The term dystocia refers to an abnormal birth and the most common cause is an abnormal alignment of the head or forelimbs in the birth canal. Usually in adult horses, acute renal failure occurs as a complication of another disease process that causes hypovolemia . Diarrhea and severe laminitis may develop in more serious cases. The aim of this case report was to present a cesarean section in the mare that evolved with renal failure and subsequent with laminitis. A nine year old Friesian mare was referred to the Veterinary teaching hospital FMV Cluj-Napoca, after a dystocia that could not be resolved conservatively.During surgery, profuse hemorrhage was noticed during the incision and suture of the uterine wall. Hypovolemia was corrected and recovery was uneventful. Two days after surgery, the mare developed acute hyposthenuric renal failure. After 3 days of intensive therapy, kidney function started to improve but the mare developed laminitis. The mare improved over a few weeks and was discharged after orthopedic shoeing. According to the author’s knowledge, this is the first case report of a cesarean section in the mare that evolved into this cascade of sequelae.