Strangulating left colon volvulus following nonsurgical castration in a 6-year-old donkey

Colic is a clinical syndrome and has been defined as a visceral abdominal pain and/or acute abdominal disease. It is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in horses. The most common forms of colics are related to gastrointestinal tract in nature and most often linked to colonic disturbances. However, colics are not well understood in donkeys compared to those of in horses and the literature is poor regarding bowel strangulating obstruction in donkeys. This report described the clinical signs and post-mortem necropsy findings of an abdominal colic due to the left colon volvulus following a non-surgical castration using Burdizzo emasculatome in a 6-year-old donkey. The castration was done under local analgesia following a sedation with a combination of xylazine-acepromazine and physical restraint on a tilt table. Severe abdominal colic and death occurred after discharging from the hospital. Left colon volvulus at the sternal and diaphragmatic flexures in a ventromedial-dorsolateral direction of 720° was the main cause of colic found at the necropsy examination. Although left colon volvulus is not considered as a complication of castration, it maybe rational to prescribe an analgesic agent in postoperative care in donkeys undergoing non-surgical castration.