Two horses at risk for life-threatening bleeding caused by an uncommon infection of the internal carotid artery were successfully treated recently by University of Florida veterinarians who used cutting-edge technology to resolve the problem faster and less invasively than traditional surgery would allow.

“The problem both of these horses had involved a disease called guttural pouch mycosis, or a fungal infection in the guttural pouch,” said Herb Maisenbacher, VMD, an assistant clinical professor of cardiology at UF’s Veterinary Medical Center. “The infection can eat its way through the tissues in the back of the throat, potentially rupturing the arteries.”

Typical symptoms include bleeding from the nose, Maisenbacher said.
UF veterinarians treated the first horse in October of 2008, and the second in May of 2009.

“One horse’s red blood cell count was actually dropping because of the bleeding,” he said. “The other had just one nose bleed. The owners knew they needed to do something before it became life-threatening