Upper Airway Endoscopy

There are many disorders which can affect the airway of a horse. Oftentimes, they may have a nasal discharge or make a noise while breathing. With our portable 1 meter endoscope, we can pass a camera into the upper airway to determine what problem they may have.

Typical problems that we visualize include:

    o Left Laryngeal Hemiplagia (Roarer)
    o Epiglottic entrapment
    o Dorsal Displacement of the soft palate (DDSP)
    o Arytenoid chondroma
    o Guttural pouch mycosis
    o Ethmoid hematoma

This list is not exhaustive. If you notice nasal discharge, poor performance, or noise upon inhalation/exhalation (especially during work), there may be something deeper going on. If you are interested in having your horse scoped, please give us a call.

Please note: At this time we are unable to provide pictures with our endoscope. The images below have been collected from various sites and experiences.

Left Laryngeal Hemiplagia

This is an image of the horse's larynx as viewed through and endoscope. The piece in front is the epiglottis and the two structures in the back are the arytenoids. Note how the one on the right (horse's left) is folded over and falling into the airway.

Ethmoid Hematoma

Borrowed from LSU Ag Center

This is an image of the back portion of the horse's nasal passage. This is a benign growth originating from the turbinates, which are very vascular. Nosebleeds are a common sign associated with this problem.