UC Davis Equine Surgical Emergency and Critical Care Service

The Equine Surgical Emergency and Critical Care Service at the UC Davis veterinary hospital provides 24-hour access to specialized emergency surgery and intensive care management of colic, trauma, and orthopedic emergencies. The integration of experienced and knowledgeable clinicians, veterinary technicians and students in a fully equipped and technologically advanced facility enables a high standard of care for critically ill horses.

Board-certified surgeons direct and supervise the care of emergency and critical care patients. Resident veterinarians and veterinary students are part of the cooperative effort involved in management of these patients. A team of certified veterinary technicians dedicated to the Large Animal Intensive Care Unit provides constant supervision and critical care monitoring for hospitalized horses 24 hours a day.

A fully staffed surgical team, including board-certified surgeons and resident veterinarians, is on stand-by 24/7/365 for surgical emergencies. Board-certified anesthesiologists provide optimal anesthetic management of these critical surgical patients. Specialists in allied disciplines, such as internal medicine and radiology, are always available to assist in the diagnosis and management of multi-system disease or complicated conditions. Diagnostic imaging is available through the Diagnostic Imaging Service and the Large Animal Ultrasound Unit; blood typing and cross matching is performed in the hematology laboratory; and a full-service diagnostic laboratory provides in-depth clinicopathological assessments.

Decisions regarding the surgical approaches and techniques to be used, either traditional or minimally invasive, are always made with the goal of optimizing patient outcome.