Despite being one of the most common surgical procedures performed by equine veterinarians, castrations aren’t as cut and dry as they seem.

At the 2009 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, for instance, Liberty M. Getman, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, of Tennessee Equine Hospital in Thompson’s Station, Tenn., , noted that approximately one-third of all castrations develop some form of post-surgical complication.

Such complications include swelling, infection, hemorrhage, eventration (evisceration, protrusion of intestine through the inguinal ring into the scrotum), peritonitis (inflammation of the lining of the abdominal and pelvic cavities), damage to the penis, and hydrocele formation (a collection of fluid in a cavity; in this case fluid within the vaginal cavity, where the testicle resided).

In an attempt to abrogate castration-related complications, veterinarians have developed a laparoscopic “keyhole” procedure. That technique, endorsed by a Dutch veterinarian in a recent online article, involves using a scope (similar to the endoscope used to examine horses’ upper respiratory tract) to place a stainless steel “LigaSure” device on the spermatic cord, which supplies blood to the testicle. The device is designed to seal and cut the spermatic cord, ultimately causing the testicles to shrink and cease producing testosterone (the hormone responsible for undesirable stallion behaviors) and sperm