We used the vest-over-pants technique to operate on umbilical hernias in 6 Japanese Black cattle, and 2 Holstein cows that had relapsed after repositioning using the horizontal mattress technique. After surgical removal of the hernia sac, the hernia ring was sutured using No. 6 synthetic absorbable suture thread by the vest-over-pants technique. Followup after discharge showed that all the cases recovered, and none relapsed. Four of the operated cattle exceeded 200kg body weight. Because of the good results obtained, including in relapsed cases and heavy cattle, it is considered that this type of closure is effective in the surgical treatment of umbilical hernia in cattle.

View full abstract

In this paper, we report a case of a 4-month-old Japanese Black male calf with ruptured umbilical hernia and small intestinal evisceration, treated by emergency surgery. Laparotomy revealed a part of the small intestine incarcerated into a ruptured umbilical hernia with associated bowel ischemia and necrosis. The segment of the small intestine damaged by the incarceration was resected together with the tissues of umbilical hernia, and an end-to-end intestinal anastomosis was created. The abdominal wall was closed using the vest-over-pants technique. The calf recovered without any complication.

View full abstract

A 9-month-old Japanese black bovine with Claudin-16 (CL-16) deficiency was maintained on a low-protein diet to reduce the load on the kidneys. At the time of the first examination, the animal had slight anemia and lameness, and high plasma levels of urea nitrogen (UN), creatinine (Crea), total cholesterol (T-chol) and vitamin A (VA). After 40 days on the low protein diet, the clinical symptoms improved, and the values of plasma biochemical variables decreased. But Crea and VA levels remained high, although showing some decrease. These results suggest that a low protein diet might improve blood component levels in cattle with CL-16 deficiency.

View full abstract

An 11-month-old Holstein cow with congenitally shortened neck was subjected to clinical, radiographic and myelographic examination, and also autopsy and histopathological examination. Skeletal preparations of the cervical region were made to investigate the abnormality of the vertebrae. The cow was growing normally, and no critical neurological signs were observed. Radiographic examination showed marked kyphosis of the cervical spine, and fusion of posterior cervical vertebrae was suspected. Myelographic examination showed curvature of the spinal cord, but no narrowing at any part. Atrophy, hyaline degeneration, and hydropic degeneration of muscle fibers were seen in the dorsal part of the cervical region in the histopathological examination, but there was no abnormality in the cervical spinal cord. Deformation, fusion, and hypoplasia of the cervical vertebrae and posterior thoracic vertebrae were observed. It is suggested that in the organ system-wise classification of congenital abnormalities, this may be classified as a case of defective vertebrae with the coexisting congenital anomalies of kyphosis, scoliosis and vertebral fusion. The cause of this defect was not clear, but the observed vertebral fusion and hypoplasia indicated defective development of the vertebral segment during the early fetal stage.

View full abstract