The Roaring Fork Equine Medical Center is equipped with the most modern technological advances and experienced surgeons to provide elective and emergency surgical services to the horses of western Colorado, Eastern Utah and Southern Wyoming.
These modern facilities and knowledge enhance surgical capabilities and reduce the risks of surgery and general anesthesia. From arthroscopic joint surgeries to emergency colic surgery, the Roaring Fork Equine Medical center is prepared to provide the highest level of veterinary care to your horse.
The RFEMC team is also excited to announce the recent addition of a CO2 laser which allows for our surgeons to perform precise removal and treatment of certain skin diseases such as sarcoids, squamous cell carcinomas, melanomas and more.
Some surgical procedures that are offered at Roaring Fork Equine Medical Center include:
- Colic surgery- Our surgeons are trained to help owners in an emergency situation understand the horse's colic diagnosis, the options for treatment, and the prognosis for recovery to a normal life. The goal of every colic surgery is for our surgical team to put the horse and owner in the best possible position for recovery. This includes offering enterotomy, resection and anastomosis, and colopexy options. When the diagnosis carries limited options for treatment, our team strives to help the family make educated decisions about their horse's care.
- Minimally-invasive arthroscopic joint, tendon, and bursa surgery: These surgeries are performed to remove OCD fragments, "chip" fractures, diagnose injury, and/or treat life-threatening infection
- Upper airway/throat surgery including "tie back" laryngoplasty, arytenoidectomy, "tie forward" laryngeal advancement, Llewelyn procedures, and permanent tracheostomies: These surgeries can restore injured athletes to peak performance or allow non-athletes a more comfortable, functional airway. Video endoscopy is used during these surgeries, where appropriate, for optimal precision.
- Female reproductive surgeries including ovariectomy, RV tear/fistula reconstruction, Caslick's, and emergency Cesarean section
- Stallion Castration- We offer a variety of approaches to safely geld stallions of all ages including routine castration, cryptorchid castration, and scrotal ablation surgeries.
- Sinus surgery including trephination and "sinus flaps" for infection, complex dental disease, tumors, and trauma. While many providers offer dental extraction services, removal of the tooth alone sometimes leaves a large portion of the problem unresolved--namely infection within the sinus. Both our surgeons have extensive experience treating this complicated region, providing improved outcomes for sinus infections with a comprehensive approach.
- Treatment of skin cancer and other tumors including squamous cell carcinoma, melanomas, and sarcoid masses. We offer numerous options tailored to the horse's specific tumor including surgical mass removal, biopsy, CO2 laser vaporization, and local chemotherapy. Through early diagnosis and appropriate treatment we are able to improve the chance for recovery.
- Foot surgeries including PD neurectomy, hoof wall resections, keratoma removal, and canker treatment
- Shin drill/osteostixis, Splint bone removal
- Suspensory surgery: DBLP neurectomy, fasciotomy
- Angular limb deformity surgery for fetlock, hock, and knee/carpus abnormalities in foals including periosteal "stripping", transphyseal screw, and screw and wire techniques
- Clubfoot flexural deformity correction in young horses including check ligament of flexor tenotomies
- Removal of "bladder stones"
- Foal umbilical surgeries including correction of umbilical hernias, umbilical infection, and bladder tears
- Wound reconstruction and skin grafting
- Surgical treatment of kissing spine
- Fracture repair- We offer in house lag screw fixation including treatment of condylar fractures, sesamoid fractures, fractures of the growth plates, splint bone fractures, and certain fractures of the pastern. For more complicated fractures best treated with plates or advanced imaging (such as fluoroscopy), our surgeons are available to stabilize patients for transport to tertiary level referral centers for treatment.
- Eye surgeries including enucleation, conjunctival flaps, eyelid laceration repair, and mass removal.
