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Posted: 1st August 2025

RVC to offer minimally-invasive equine spine surgery
Cervical spine compression can cause horses neck pain and forelimb lameness.
The procedure treats cervical spinal nerve compression.

The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is to offer a minimally-invasive operation for horses with cervical spinal nerve compression.

The uniportal endoscopic foraminotomy, offered as part of an expansion of its Equine Referral Hospital, provides a treatment option for the condition.

A cervical spinal nerve compression is often the result of a narrowing of the intervertebral foramen (IVF). This can be caused by pathological changes to the ventral (non-synovial) intervertebral joint and the dorsal (synovial) articular process joint (APJ).

Horses may exhibit one or many symptoms, including neck pain/stiffness, intermittent or persistent forelimb lameness, and proprioceptive deficits.

The equipment was funded by the RVC Animal Care Trust and the Follett Trust. They also enabled RVC’s equine surgeons to train in Germany with Jan-Hein Swagemakers, who developed the surgical technique.

The RVC team will perform a clinical examination of the patient, before identifying suitable candidates for surgery using a Qalibra CT machine. The procedure is then performed under general anaesthesia, removing excess bone, relieving nerve compression and creating space within the spinal canal.

The procedure should reduce the horse’s pain and improve neurological function.

There is only one other equine hospital in the UK which is able to provide the procedure. However, there have been more than 300 surgeries performed worldwide.

The RVC says that early outcomes are showing an 80 per cent success rate for the procedure. It encourages veterinary surgeons to consider the procedure for horses with foraminal stenosis, especially those not responding to conservative management techniques.

Alex Hawkins, lecturer in equine surgery at the RVC Equine Referral Hospital, said: “We are excited to introduce uniportal endoscopic foraminotomy as a surgical option at the RVC’s Equine Referral Hospital.

“Developed by Dr Jan-Hein Swagemakers, this innovative, minimally invasive surgery offers new hope for owners with horses suffering from chronic or debilitating neck pain, helping to improve their comfort, mobility, and overall quality of life.

“It also offers referring veterinarians a reliable, evidence-based option for managing suitable cases of cervical spinal nerve compression.”

Image © RVC



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