Researchers from the United States and Sweden successfully collaborated to modify a surgical technique to correct wry nose (an abnormal nasal deviation) in the horse. The new technique necessitates only one operation and results in a positive functional and cosmetic outcome with few postoperative complications.

Wry nose is a birth defect, most commonly seen in Arabians, characterized by a shortening and deviation of the upper jaw and nose.

"In severely affected foals, the nose can deviate up to 90 degrees and is sometimes accompanied by other abnormalities, such as cleft palate. All or some of the teeth may fail to occlude and the tongue may protrude," explained co-author Jim Schumacher, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, MRCVS from the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at the University of Tennessee.

Together these abnormalities can limit a foal’s ability to nurse and can cause respiratory difficulties