Management of chronic gangrenous mastitis in a 3-year-old cow using partial (quarter) mastectomy.

Bovine gangrenous mastitis is an acute or peracute condition involving one or more quarters of the cow's udder. It occurs infrequently, but when it occurs, mortality of the affected cows is high. A partial mastectomy of one quarter using a cranial epidural analgesia with 2% lignocaine is described to manage a gangrenous mastitis affecting only one quarter caused by Proteus mirabilis (a gram-negative bacteria) which was not amenable to medical treatment. Partial mastectomy can be a safe and effective procedure for ruminants with udder disease in genetically or otherwise valuable cattle.

Physiologic mastectomy via flank laparotomy.

Physiologic mastectomy can be used as a salvage procedure in cases of chronic suppurative mastitis, gangrenous mastitis, or chronic, severe mastitis associated with organisms liberating endotoxin or exotoxin. The surgical technique involves ligation of the major arterial blood supply (external pudendal artery) to the corresponding half of the mammary gland, which results in decreased systemic absorption of toxins and gland atrophy. The technique is performed with the cow standing, and it is relatively atraumatic. This procedure is a simple, yet effective alternative to radical mastectomy for unresponsive mastitis cases in genetically or otherwise valuable cattle.

Radical mastectomy in 20 ruminants.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a surgical technique for radical mastectomy in ruminants and to report experience and outcome in 20 animals. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. ANIMALS: Seventeen goats and 3 cows. METHODS: Medical records of ruminants that had radical mastectomy between June 1, 1987 and June 1, 2003 were reviewed. Follow-up information was obtained by telephone interview of owners. RESULTS: One animal died within 24 hours from complications of gangrenous mastitis and another died from necrotizing cellulitis. Eighteen animals were discharged and follow-up information was available for 15 animals; 12 animals lived at least 1 year postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: Ruminants with severe but localized diseases of the udder did well after radical mastectomy. The procedure was well tolerated, made the animals more comfortable, and potentially prolonged their lives as pets. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Radical mastectomy can be a safe and effective procedure for ruminants with udder disease, with few complications.

["Emergency splitting" of the teat canal--a therapeutic procedure in case of concurrent occurrence of acute thelitis and severe mastitis]. / Die "Notspaltung" des Zitzenkanals--ein Therapieverfahren bei Koinzidenz von akuter Thelitis und schwerer Mastitis.

In case of concurrent acute thelitis and severe mastitis, an immediate surgery of the stenosis ("emergency splitting") might be justified in order to improve milkability as a prerequisite for the removal of pathological milk secretion and therapy, successful mastitis therapy. The aim of this study was to compare the milkability and the clinical cure rate of mastitis between Group A (n = 19, cows with stenosis, thelitis and mastitis) and Group B (n = 19, cows with stenosis, with or without clinical mastitis, but without acute thelitis) following surgery of the papillary duct using a cutting instrument (Danish cannula model with a double cutting edge). In most cases, milkability was restored at the end of the treatment in both groups (Group A: 89.5%; Group B: 100%). In this time period nine of 19 quarters with mastitis in Group A were clinically cured (47%). Six month after the surgery, the animal owners considered the milkability as very good in 70% and 72% of the cases in Group A and Group B, respectively. However, "emergency splitting" led to a more intensive and longer postsurgical treatment. The average duration of total treatment (day of surgery plus 6 days of obligate postsurgical treatment plus additional treatment days) was 7.4 and 6.7 days in Group A and Group B, respectively. Furthermore, the higher expenditure was due to the more costly mastitis therapy. During the six month following surgery, only one cow of Group A had to be culled due to persistent mastitis and two cows because of insufficient milkability.

Comparison of thelotomy and theloscopic triangulation for the treatment of distal teat obstructions in dairy cows--a retrospective study (1994-1998).

The medical records of 56 cows suffering from teat obstructions in the area of the rosette of Fürstenberg were reviewed; 22 were treated by thelotomy and 34 by theloscopic triangulation and the long-term results were reviewed by telephone conversations with the owners up to four years after the surgery. The milk flow at the fourth milking session after surgery was significantly better in the cows treated by theloscopy and, as a result, fewer of these cows required the teat sphinder to be cut. The cows treated by theloscopy also stayed in hospital for a significantly shorter period and suffered fewer episodes of mastitis.