Preface

      As surgeons we read and learn with enthusiasm about surgical treatments and techniques and enjoy performing those on our patients aiming to achieve a successful outcome for them. That successful outcome is the result of many factors including good knowledge and technique, mentorship, interaction with peers, experience and, of course, the availability of evidence‐based literature and resources. Publications in the form of textbooks and journals play a central role in our individual training and progression, and will remain as key in the further evolvement of equine surgery and formation of new equine surgeons. As residents we feel thrilled and enormously satisfied when we observe how application of those surgical treatments translates into survival of our patients. It is with great satisfaction when as surgeons we remove gloves, gown and mask at the end of a surgical procedure that has been completed effectively. The satisfaction is bigger when the patient gets discharged from the hospital and increases further when we learn from owners, trainers or referring veterinarians that the patient has successfully returned to their previous or intended use. However, as surgeons we all learn that many hurdles are to be cleared in the pre‐, intra‐, and postoperative periods to reach that successful outcome. On occasions, there are unforeseen circumstances or factors that we may not be able to control or that escape our individual experience.

      We all have experienced surgeries that do not go according to plan, despite having cautiously read and memorized all steps of the surgical procedures. Not uncommonly, we encounter individual variations, intraoperative incidents or situations that may escape the standard descriptions in the literature. Surgical steps may be carefully followed without guarantee that they will translate into results as described in textbooks or papers. In the postoperative period, we are vigilant of our patients hoping for a steady recovery to hospital discharge and successful return to previous use. We monitor our patients closely with special attention to detect early signs that may alert us to occurrence of complications or deviation from the uneventful recovery path. This represents a source of stress for the responsible clinician and especially for residents when they are questioned by their mentors about unexpected signs, possible complications, reasons, and how those could have been prevented and be treated at the time. The stress also extends to client communication, as the effect of those complications on the outcome of that particular patient may not be readily described in the scientific literature. All these bumps along the way can be referred to as complications that jeopardize the well‐desired successful outcome for our patients. Although we will not be able to save all patients, the science to accurately predict, diagnose, and manage complications, in addition to training and experience, hopefully give the surgeon the ability to adapt to those less‐than‐ideal situations while providing the means to achieve the best successful outcome for that patient.

The editors are delighted to present this new textbook Complications in Equine Surgery. The original idea of this project came from one of the editors (LRM) during his early years as a surgery resident and young equine surgeon. In 2014, LRM and DAH started with the design of the project and in 2015 Wiley Blackwell came on board. After another 4.5 years we are finally seeing the project completed. The aim of this project was to gather relevant and important information to increase awareness, literacy, and evidence on the prevention, identification, and management of complications commonly associated with diagnostic and surgical procedures performed on equine patients. Literature resources of this kind are common and abundant in human medicine but limited in equine surgery, and veterinary medicine in general. The editors present this textbook in a format that markedly differs from other equine and veterinary textbooks. Complications are the mainstay of the chapters, which are divided into a number of sections including definition, risk factors, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. This textbook is not only aimed at equine surgery residents and surgeons, but also to all those equine clinicians that very often and carefully take care of the patients in their pre‐ and postoperative times. We trust that all of you will find this textbook useful.

      This project has only been possible thanks to the excellent editorial team at Wiley, and the invaluable, hard work of many authors who have contributed chapters to this textbook. We have endeavored to include a long list of worldwide experts in different areas of equine surgery. An emphasis has been made to include references, even though these may sometimes be limited to single case reports, small case series, or limited notes in publications. We trust this textbook will strive for the further development and building‐up of evidence‐based information in the field of complications in equine surgery, aiming to contribute to the equine surgeons’ education and success, as well as the welfare of our equine patients.

      Luis M. Rubio-Martinez

      Dean A. Hendrickson