Placement of custom-made full tracheal length stents in Miniature Horses for treatment of collapsing trachea

This report describes the placement of custom-designed intraluminal self-expanding nitinol stents spanning the entire length of the trachea for the treatment of tracheal collapse in two Miniature Horses. Both horses underwent an initial anaesthetic event for tracheal length and diameter measurements performed fluoroscopically at inspiratory pressures of 20 and 30 cm H₂O. Once the stents were available, a second anaesthetic event was performed for the fluoroscopic guided placement of the stents. The first case was found dead 36 days after stent placement; necropsy showed proliferative, obstructive, granulation tissue at the cranial extent of the stent. The second case survived for 2 years following stent placement without any further surgical intervention before ultimately being euthanised due to short and infrequent bouts of respiratory distress of unknown aetiology. This is the first description of full-length intraluminal nitinol stenting of the trachea in two Miniature Horses for tracheal collapse. This technique may be an improvement on the use of multiple short tracheal stents; however, more cases are needed to determine which animals will benefit most from the procedure, as well as guide sizing, position and placement techniques to optimise outcome.