Umbilical issues - anyone else experience this?

[Blacktree]

When one of our colts was 3 days old, he started to pee out of his umbilical stub - luckily he was at the vet hospital already. The vets said that his cord had broken at the wrong place, so we could either do surgery to remove the extra structure or try to coterize (sp?) the end and hope that it would stop him peeing through it. The poor boy had just gone through 2 surgeries for an inguinal hernia, so we opted to try that instead of putting him through a third surgury. It worked to seal it off, but now as a yearling, he still has a bit of an 'outie' belly button.

That colt's 2008 full brother hasn't had the same trouble with peeing through his cord, but he is also a huge foal that had a very thick cord. Now, at a week old, this guy's umbilical stub seems to stick out much more than normal, like the earlier colt's did. Is he doomed to have a permanent 'outie' as well?

What has causes this and should we consider having something done for either of these guys? It seems to only be a minor cosmetic thing on the older colt now, and maybe this new guy's will disappear normally as he gets older, but it makes me wonder. Anyone have a similar experience and want to share? Thanks!

[amdfarm]

Have dealt w/ a few cases of patent urachus. One was not infected and healed on it's own w/out surgery, but she was put on SMZ's to prevent infection. The other two cases involved infection and surgery to repair them. Both of their new umblical locations resulted in huge hernias which required another surgery repair, but the hernias on both have returned (one is a 3 finger and the other is a 4-5 finger... quite large.)

Now a really big filly that was born May 30th, mom got up quite quickly, also had a very large cord, and I tried to put my hand down there around it before she got up, but she was too quick for me. She has a fairly large/swollen umbilicus now and is currently on antibiotics to prevent any infection. The vet will check her again next week when he comes to u/s mares. Not sure if it will go down on its own or not, but I have seen some go down as they grew up and you would have never known they were like that... no infections in those either.

Hopefully Kathy or someone else will chime in w/ the exact cause, but in the above cases, two of mare's got up too soon. Not sure why the colt got it (other two are fillies) as the mare stayed down quite awhile and the cord broke nice and clean and was treated right away. All I know is that the urachus didn't close at birth like it should have and caused an infection. The umbilicus was swollen and he didn't feel well at all, hence going in for surgery. A twist of the cord in the womb is one cause of it not being able to seal, or if happens later after birth, and infection may disrupt the seal and case leakage.

HTH

[Fairview Horse Center]

The cases of patent urachus we have had, we just redipped the umbilicus in stong iodine (7%) a few times, and it sealed up nicely.

[Equine Reproduction]

When one of our colts was 3 days old, he started to pee out of his umbilical stub - luckily he was at the vet hospital already. The vets said that his cord had broken at the wrong place, so we could either do surgery to remove the extra structure or try to coterize (sp?) the end and hope that it would stop him peeing through it.

Mmm...not entirely correct. The urachus is a tube that connects the bladder to the umbilical chord. As the foal passes through the birth canal, the urachus normally breaks and closes. When the urachus fails to close, the tube remains open (patent). Over simplification but hopefully understandable. Attempts can be made to get the structure to close off on it's own by cauterizing or by trying to get the navel to dry on its own. Severe cases will require surgery and you must watch closely for infection.

The cases I've dealt with required surgery <sigh>. It is, btw, a "male" issue and almost never seen in girls - both in horses and in humans.

Hope that helps!

Kathy St.Martin
Equine Reproduction Short Courses
http://www.equine-reproduction.com

[Edgewood]

It is, btw, a "male" issue and almost never seen in girls - both in horses and in humans.

Hope that helps!



True that it affects males more commonly, however, it can happen to fillies occasionally. For instance, I did have a filly that developed patent urachus at 10 days. She had a 3 finger hernia too that I was going to have surgically repaired, but when she developed patent urachus she went into surgery much sooner than expected. She was never "sick" in that she didn't feel sick, but her urachus ws inflammed and therefore removed.

[smilton]

I've had several foals with the urachus issue. Every one of them out grew it as they put on weight. One took 3 weeks but as he gained weight it closed off on its own. I used chlorohexaderm and saline washed to help with urine burns.
Hospital recommended surgery in all cases but my vet recommended the wait and see approach as long and they stayed healthy and happy.

[Blacktree]

Mmm...not entirely correct. The urachus is a tube that connects the bladder to the umbilical chord. As the foal grows inuteruo, the urachus normally closes. When the urachus fails to close, the tube remains open (patent). Over simplification but hopefully understandable. Attempts can be made to get the structure to close off on it's own by cauterizing or by trying to get the navel to dry on its own. Severe cases will require surgery and you must watch closely for infection.


Sorry, that was a year ago so the details in my head are a bit fuzzy - thanks for the clarification! :)

What I am wondering the most about now is - will the yearling ever loose his 'belly button', or is that permanent if it's not gone by now? If permanent, should we have it removed or is it just a cosmetic thing?

For the new colt, since he didn't actually have the 'patent' urachus issue - is it most likely that he just had a big cord that will eventually go away, or could he have something else going on similar to his brother?

Thanks guys!

[amdfarm]

Before I dealt w/ urachus issues, I thought it to be mostly a male thing, too, but my first was a filly and it started dripping urine around 3 days old. And of my friends, as mentioned above, was a filly and the other a colt. The newest one being a filly also. So only one boy.

To the OP, I would think it would go away as he grows up, as ours have, and that it's just a cosmetic thing at this point if he's a healthy and happy yearling.

For the new guy, it may not hurt to check to see if it's infected, as if the umbilicus is warm to the touch and painful. This is what we're watching in the newest filly and why she's on antibiotics. She acts fine and is a pistol, but her umbilicus is very large and almost swings/flops side to side when she walks.

Or ask your vet and see what s/he thinks.

[patch work farm]

I have had two colts with patent urachus issues, both required surgery. I was very lucky with one colt this year, I caught it before it turned into anything (had been dipping his navel 5 times a day for 5 days and stopped-within 3 days it got spongy so I started dipping him again) and put him on antibiotics proactively and all was fine. I too, have found it to be a "boy" thing. I have only had one filly (out of 10) with a hernia but it was unrelated.

I have become very aggressive in continuing to dip and dip and dip. I was told NOT to use chlorhexidine because it does not have the drying affect of betadine/iodine?

[Fairview Horse Center]

It was explained to me that the Strong Iodine (7%) will burn/irritate a bit. This has a cauterizing effect. I don't use that for regular dipping, but change to that for its strong effect for patent urachus.

[Clarion]

I had a foal last year with a patent urachus, and two foals with the large umbilical stumps. All have outgrown the large belly button thing. The one that took the longest was actually a filly with a large stump. She was well over a year old, maybe closer to two, before hers completely flattened out. None of mine ever had surgery, but the one with the patent urachus was scheduled to have it and then the vet changed his mind after we took him to the hospital.

[Pippin]

neighbor had a colt a couple of weeks ago... very thick sac and cord... now the belly button is enlarged and the colt is always dropped .. ?? Is this common ?? no other symptoms..

This gal does not vaccinate or worm ... so I don't bother offering suggestions... but curious for my learning...

P

[amdfarm]

neighbor had a colt a couple of weeks ago... very thick sac and cord... now the belly button is enlarged and the colt is always dropped .. ?? Is this common ?? no other symptoms..

This gal does not vaccinate or worm ... so I don't bother offering suggestions... but curious for my learning...

P

The colt being dropped is a boy thing, until they figure out it's actually a muscle and are strong enough to know how to keep it put away. ;) I always say, "they're proud to be boys!" :winkgrin:

If the umbilicus is enlarged, it could be like my friend's last filly. She's on antibiotics to prevent infection and w/ time and age it should go back down and be flat on her tummy. She'll be checked again by the vet this week. She's on Tribrissan (sp?) paste for antibiotics.

Hope your neighbor's foal doesn't develop an infection if she doesn't believe in vaccinations or wormer.

[Blacktree]

Thanks for your replies guys! Very helpful.

To the OP, I would think it would go away as he grows up, as ours have, and that it's just a cosmetic thing at this point if he's a healthy and happy yearling.

For the new guy, it may not hurt to check to see if it's infected, as if the umbilicus is warm to the touch and painful. This is what we're watching in the newest filly and why she's on antibiotics. She acts fine and is a pistol, but her umbilicus is very large and almost swings/flops side to side when she walks.

Or ask your vet and see what s/he thinks.

This is exactly what our little guy's looks like. He's the one that I had a 'jingles needed' thread about just a bit ago, too. He had a pretty rough start and was on antibiotics for his first week bc of a low fever. Then he was doing well, so we stopped the antibiotics after the course was complete. This Saturday though, his temp went up again and he started getting a bit more sensitive on his umbilicus (which we've been obcessively watching). It now looks like the end has dried up and things are getting much smaller, and we have him on antibiotics again. Temp today was way down. The vet will ultrasound his umbilicus if his temp starts to rise again. It seems now very much like what we dealt with last year w/ our (now) yearling after his had been cauterized. I think we're on top of things though, so fingers crossed that we are close to the end with this poor young one's troubles...

I had a foal last year with a patent urachus, and two foals with the large umbilical stumps. All have outgrown the large belly button thing. The one that took the longest was actually a filly with a large stump. She was well over a year old, maybe closer to two, before hers completely flattened out. None of mine ever had surgery, but the one with the patent urachus was scheduled to have it and then the vet changed his mind after we took him to the hospital.

That's exactly what I was hoping to hear about for the yearling - hopefully it will continue to receed. If not, I bet he doesn't care. :)

[amdfarm]

I figured it was the same boy that was needing jingles early on, the poor guy has been through a lot in his short life hasn't he? The a/b early on have probably helped him, too, along w/ being on them again. I think as long as his temp stays down and the umbilicus continues to dry he should be okay.

You're right about the yearling. He won't care what his belly button looks like. Things like that bother us more than them. :)

I will still send some jingles his way just in case he needs them.

[ise@ssl]

What you can see on the outside may not be the real problem. The Vet MUST DO an ultrasound so see what the situation is on the INSIDE. If there is something not closing on the inside - then that needs to be taken care of immediately.

[avezan]

WarmbloodColor,
What did your vet use to cauterize your colt last year? I am going through a congenital patent utrachus in a filly right now on another thread. I would like to make some suggestions to my vet. Thanks!

[Blacktree]

I figured it was the same boy that was needing jingles early on, the poor guy has been through a lot in his short life hasn't he? The a/b early on have probably helped him, too, along w/ being on them again. I think as long as his temp stays down and the umbilicus continues to dry he should be okay.

You're right about the yearling. He won't care what his belly button looks like. Things like that bother us more than them. :)

I will still send some jingles his way just in case he needs them.

Yep - he has had a definite rough start, poor kid! Thanks for the continued jingles, he has definitely needed some help... we are so lucky to have a great vet that really cares about our 'kids' through all of this - he has stopped by many times now to check on this guy w/o charging anything, and calls 2x a day for updates. I think he stresses about him almost as much as I do!

Today's update is good - I am very encouraged. The umbilicus has gone way down in size every day and is still dry at the tip. He no longer minds much when we handle it. His temp remains normal since we started on the second course of anitbiotics. He is feeling strong and good, though he is still a bit weak in his back tendons so he has not yet been okay'd for turnout. We have been letting him into a double stall again for a little more time each day. His 'dummy foal' symptoms are gone. I still worry about him a lot but it seems like we're on the right track so far - we are still watching him very closely and talk to the vet daily. Hopefully his temp will stay down and he will continue to get better and better. He is turning into a very cool guy, I'm glad he had some fight in him to get this far.

WarmbloodColor,
What did your vet use to cauterize your colt last year? I am going through a congenital patent utrachus in a filly right now on another thread. I would like to make some suggestions to my vet. Thanks!

I just checked the discharge papers from the hospital for our (now) yearling and it didn't mention exactly what was used, unfortunately. They were very quick to cauterize once he started doing that though and were quite agressive w/ the antibiotics (b/w that issue and his surgeries). He was on them still for a while after he got home, then his temp went slowly up after we finshed and we had to do one more course. After that he was fine. I'm no expert, but I think the key w/ him was their quick action to cauterize. If your vet isn't sure what is ideal to use, I'd have them call the nearest vet hospital and ask for their recommendation, then get it done asap. Good luck and jingles to your filly!!! I definitely understand what you are going through-

[amdfarm]

You're welcome for the jingles. There seems to be a lot of them going around these days, unfortunately, but hey, if they help, so be it... happy to do it. :)

That sounds like a very encouraging update for sure. My friend's filly's umbilicus has gone down to half it's size, more normal, as she is HUGE. She will continue to be on a/b until about mid week and be done. Then we'll just keep an eye on it.

As mentioned earlier, iodine has a cauterizing effect.

More jingles for your colt and avezan's filly.