Anesthetic Management of Equine Head Trauma A Case Report

A fractured frontal bone in an 8-year-old Arabian gelding was repaired surgically. The horse exhibited no detectable neurologic deficits before surgery. Anesthesia was induced with a combination of guaifenesin and sodium thiamylal and maintained on halothane in oxygen. Postoperatively, the neurologic status of the horse deteriorated, and it died. On postmortem examination, intracranial hemorrhage accompanied by pressure-induced malacia of the adjacent brain parenchyma was discovered. The hemorrhage was not associated with the surgical site. The authors hypothesize that increased intracranial pressure occurred in the perioperative period.