Postoperative care and long-term follow-up after a rostral mandibulectomy to treat an ossifying fibroma in a horse

EnglishOssifying fibroma is a disfiguring benign neoplasia of the jaw that affects young animals of several species, including horses. The present report described the postoperative care and long-term follow-up after a rostral mandibulectomy (RM) that was performed to treat an ossifying fibroma in a horse. A 3-year-old crossbred horse presented a hard, well-defined, 14.5×10.0×9.5cm ulcerated mass attached to the rostral mandible. Radiographic findings were compatible with a nonaggressive mandibular bone deformity (benign neoplasia). Histological features confirmed the diagnosis of the ossifying fibroma. After the RM, the horse slowly adapted to the new feeding conditions and was discharged when it fully recovered and was capable of feeding on the paddock and drinking water on its own on day 60. This slow adaptation was crucial for post-surgical recovery and required hard labor to manage the feeding and hydration by nasogastric tube during the hospital stay. Key words: benign neoplasia; mandibular growth; postoperative adaptation; rostral mandible portuguesFibroma ossificante e uma neoplasia benigna desfigurante da mandibula, que afeta animais jovens de varias especies, incluindo equinos. O presente relato descreve os cuidados pos-operatorios e o acompanhamento a longo prazo apos mandibulectomia rostral (MR) no tratamento de um fibroma ossificante em um equino. Um cavalo mestico de tres anos de idade apresentou massa ulcerada, dura, bem definida, medindo 14,5x10x9,5cm, contigua a mandibula rostral. Os achados radiograficos foram compativeis com uma deformidade ossea mandibular nao agressiva (neoplasia benigna). As caracteristicas histologicas confirmaram o diagnostico de fibroma ossificante. Apos a MR, o equino adaptou-se lentamente as novas condicoes de alimentacao e recebeu alta clinica totalmente recuperado, sendo capaz de se alimentar em piquetes e beber agua por conta propria, no 60o dia. Esta lenta adaptacao foi crucial para recuperacao pos-cirurgica e exigiu trabalho arduo no manejo da alimentacao e hidratacao por meio de sonda nasogastrica durante o periodo de internacao hospitalar. Palavras-chave: adaptacao pos-cirurgica; crescimento mandibular; mandibula rostral; neoplasia benigna