Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To report the clinical findings and treatment of a heifer with suppurative splenitis. STUDY DESIGN: Clinical report.
ANIMALS: A 30-month-old heifer.
METHODS: Splenectomy in the standing calf after local anesthesia and 13th rib resection. RESULTS: The heifer had an uneventful recovery but was culled because of septic tarsitis 3 months later.
CONCLUSIONS: Splenectomy is a useful treatment for cattle with traumatic splenitis if diagnosed early. Partial splenectomy may have prevented the late complication of septic tarsitis.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Suppurative splenitis is usually a complication of hardware disease and has a grave prognosis unless splenectomy is carried out.
Nuss, Karl