Lil Poken Play

Lil Poken Play, a twelve year old mare, owned by Joe Brogdon is our patient of the month.  She was initially brought in for a lameness exam and excessive weight loss.  After a thorough exam, radiographs, and ultrasonography it was discovered Lil Poken Play suffered from severe pleuritis and pleural effusion.  Pleural effusion is excess fluid that can impair breathing by limiting the expansion of the lungs during ventilation.  After aspirating and draining the pleural cavity of over two liters of fluid, we placed a thoracic lavage tube into her chest.  Over the course of the next two days, we lavaged and drained over three gallons of fluid.  Lil Poken Play showed immediate signs of relief and began to improve.  After being home for three weeks now she has already gained a significant amount of weight and appears to be on the road to a full recovery.