Your veterinarian says your horse needs surgery, and there are two options to choose from—a tried-and-true but somewhat invasive procedure or a newer, less invasive method that lets them return to function quicker. While the latter option seems enticing, you might want to stick to tradition, depending on the procedure: Researchers recently learned that conventional tactics appear to reign supreme over newer methods when it comes to equine cryptorchidectomies.

At the 2013 American Association of Equine Practitioners' Convention, held Dec. 7-11 in Nashville, Tenn., Nicola Cribb, MA, VetMB, DVSc, Dipl. ACVS, described a recent study that showed conventional cryptorchidectomies (in which veterinarians use an incision either in the inguinal area, near the prepuce, or in the flank to gain access to and remove a retained testicle) appeared to have better outcomes than those performed via laparoscopy (making a small incision, using a laparoscope to view within the peritoneal cavity, and removing the testicle through this incision).

Cribb, an assistant professor of large animal surgery at the University of Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College, said that, in general, practitioners believe laparoscopy has some advantages over conventional surgical procedures, such as superior visualization of the lesion, less surgical morbidity, and quicker return to work for the horse. However, "to our knowledge, no previous study has compared intra-operative and postoperative surgical parameters between conventional surgery and its laparoscopic equivalent in horses," Cribb added.

Thus, she and colleagues set out to evaluate differences in intra- and postoperative complications between conventional methods and laparoscopy when used in a common procedure: a cryptorchidectomy