This document discusses castration techniques in large animals. It covers equine castration methods including standing, recumbent open, closed and semi-closed approaches. Complications like hemorrhage, evisceration, edema and infection are addressed. Food animal castration using tools like the Newberry knife, elastrator, burdizzo and power drill are described. The conclusion emphasizes understanding anatomy, surgical principles and tailoring the technique to each individual animal and situation.
8. Standing Castration
• Advantages
– Less cost & assistance
– Quicker
– Choice if poor anesthetic candidate
• Disadvantages
– Vulnerable position
– Avoid on small horses, donkey’s, mules
– Assess temperament prior
• Sedation
– Alpha-2 agonist +/- butorphanol
• Local Analgesia
– Essential to castrating standing
– Spermatic cord or intra-testicle
• Position
– Tight to horse, keep head up, use reach
of arms.
9. Recumbent Castration
• Environment
– Field conditions
– Hospital conditions
• Anesthesia
• Xylazine followed by
ketamine & diazepam
• Recumbancy
– Left lateral vs. dorsal
• Rope Restraint
– Tie the limbs to
maintain safety
10. Open Castration
• Incision
– Through both scrotum and
parietal tunic
• Dissection
– Ligament of tail of epididymis
• Exteriorization
– Testicle and spermatic cord
• +/- Ligation
– Hemostasis
– Foreign material
• Emasculation
• Leaves parietal tunic behind
11. Emasculation
• “Nut to Nut”
• Held clamped for
minimum of 1 minute
– Anecdotal rule of ‘1
minute per age year of
horse’ often used
• Variable types of
emasculators
– Serra, White vs. Reimer
12. Closed Castration
• Incision
– Only through scrotum, not
through parietal tunic
• “Stripping”
– Dissection of scrotal fascia
• Emasculation
– Parietal tunic vs. Cremaster
muscle
• +/- primary closure
– Decrease risk of herniation
and evisceration
– Foreign material
13. Semi-Closed
• Incision
– Scrotum
– 2cm incision into parietal
tunic
• Eversion of tunic
– Flip parietal tunic over thumb
– Provides grip to aide in
retraction
• Closed castration
– Emasculate spermatic cord
followed by parietal tunic
16. Post-Operative Recommendations
• Open Scrotal Incision
– Movement
• Lunging at the trot daily
– Hydrotherapy
• Decrease swelling
• Closed
– Confinement to facilitate primary intention healing
• Isolation from mares
– Active spermatozoa
– 2 days min.
18. Hemorrhage
• Emasculator application
– Thick cords
– Angle non-perpendicular
– Instrument condition
• Testicular Artery
– Some dripping normal, from scrotal vessels
– Active stream of blood is not normal
• Treatment
– Wait 20 – 30 min, observe
– Sedate, re-grasp cord, ligate
– Pack with gauze for 24 hours
– Anesthetize and find bleeder
• Monitor yourself
– Stay on farm or refer
19. Evisceration
• Prolapse of intestine /
omental tissue through
inguinal canal and scrotum
• Breed
– Standardbreds, Drafts
• Clean and replace contents
back into abdomen
– May have to anestheize
– Refer immediately
• Sequela
– Strangulation of intestine
– Septic peritonitis
20. Edema
• Common, normal result
• Management
– Exercise
– Hydrotherapy
• If non-responsive,
– Re-open scrotal incision
– Promote further
drainage
21. Septic Funiculitis
• Definition: Infection of
spermatic cord
• Open castration
– More tissue left behind
• Treatment
– Antibiotics
– Drainage
– Surgery
• Champignon vs. Scirrhous
Cord
– Streptococcus vs.
Staphylococcus
24. Penile Damage
• Inadvertent emasculation of penis
• Edema formation
• Paraphimosis
• Know your anatomy
25. Hydrocele
• Scrotal swelling
– Excess abdominal fluid in vaginal cavity
• Open castration
• Cosmetic problem
– Usually painless
• Drainage not helpful
– More abdominal fluid
– Can introduce bacteria
• Surgery
– Remove parietal tunic
27. Cryptorchidism
• Definition: Failure of one or
more testicles to descend
• Location
– Abdominal vs. inguinal
– Left vs. right
• Inherited
• Diagnostic techniques
– Palpation, ultrasound, explorato
ry, hormone assays
• Surgical removal
– Do not remove a descended
testicle if the other testicle
cannot be located.
28. Food Animal
• Principles of castration similar
to equine
• Meat quality, behavior
• Often performed by producer
• Restraint alone vs.
sedation/anesthesia
• Scrotal incision
– Overlying testicle
– Transect distal 1/3rd
• Strip, +/-
ligate, emasculate, etc.
29. Food Animal Tools
• Newberry knife
– Splits scrotum in half
– Good access
– Good drainage
31. Food Animal Tools
• Burdizzo
– Crushes spermatic
cord from the
outside
– May have to apply
multiple times
– Testicles
atrophy, don’t
usually slough
32. Food Animal Tools
• Henderson castrating tool
– Attached to power drill
– Twisting motion
– Good hemostasis in older animals
33. Conclusion
• Understand the anatomy, know your basic surgical
principles, and evaluate the unique factors present
(specie, purpose of animal, animal
temperament, surgical environment, owner
expectations, owner budget etc.)
• Recognize potential complications from castration and
know how to manage them appropriately.
• There is no “one right way” to perform castration - the
right way is to know every way and apply the
appropriate technique to the individual / situation.