VSR 421: Regional Veterinary Surgery (2+1)

Traunatic reticuloperitonitis

TRAUMATIC RETICULOPERITONITIS

• Add pericarditis separately
• Traumatic reticulitis is a common surgical condition affecting the bovine. The condition is rare in camels despite the habit of ingesting foreign bodies and seldom seen in sheep and goats.
• Cattle and buffaloes ingest foreign bodies due to their indiscriminate feeding habits. Animals with nutritional deficiencies may ingest various types of foreign bodies deliberately. Small ruminants with nutritional deficiency may consume ropes, plastic sheets etc.
• On rare occasions, metallic foreign bodies also have been recovered from the reticulum and abomasm of goats.
• In bovines, foreign bodies are swallowed straight into the reticulum where they inflict trauma to the reticulum and peritoneum causing  traumatic reticuloperitonitis.
• The incidence among buffaloes is found higher than in cattle.

Pathophysiology

• When a foreign body is ingested, it gets lodged into the honey comb structure of the reticulum. Foreign bodies with smooth, rounded edges like nuts, coins and stones, lie harmless and may pass out ultimately through the faeces. However, foreign bodies with sharp pointed edges, like nails, needles, metallic wires etc may cause other complications apart from causing reticulitis.
• In both cattle and buffaloes, foreign body reticulitis may extend into traumatic pericarditis, vagal indigestion, pyothorax, abscessation of the liver and spleen, diaphragmatic hernia, traumatic pneumonia, pleurisy etc. Rarely, a foreign body may get lodged into the omasal orifice or intestine.
• Reticular and diaphragmatic abscesses many develop often. The foreign bodies may penetrate the lateral or ventral, abdominal wall and form abscesses. Foreign bodies are found within the abscess while opening the abscess or they may fall down themselves.
• Extensive adhesions develop between reticulum and diaphragm or other structures which interfere with the reticular contractions and eructation process.
•  In ruminants, the peritonitis caused by the foreign bodies are often localised . But, on rare occasions, large abscess were formed in the abdominal cavity.