THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Arazaan, a 15-year-old male thoroughbred horse belonging to the Mounted Police Unit in Thiruvananthapuram, underwent a successful surgery for the removal of a deep nasal tumour weighing 1.2kg. This is the first time an operation of this sort is being conducted in the state. The surgery was undertaken by nine expert veterinarians with the remote assistance of the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Pookode. It was Dr L J Lowrance, assistant director of the Mounted Police Unit, who first realised that Arazaan was finding it difficult to breathe.
After a scan found that the horse had a deep nasal tumour, Dr Lowrance formed an expert team of specialists to conduct the highly complicated surgery, after receiving a go-ahead from Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner and IG Balram Kumar Upadhyay, under whom the unit functions.
Dr Lowrance told TNIE that the process of administering anaesthesia to a horse was tricky as there were chances of it undergoing cardiac arrest midway through the surgery. “If a cow requires only 2ml of medicine for anesthesia, a horse requires 200ml of ketamine.This is the tricky part. Fortunately, everything fell into place with the help of the team,” he said.
Arazaan, who was brought to Thiruvananthapuram from Mumbai almost a decade ago, is recuperating from the surgery. “It will take at least two weeks for him to get rid of the pain. He requires complete rest for at least a month,” Dr Lowrance said.
Besides Dr Lowrance, the surgery team comprised Dr P T Dinesh, head of surgery, KVASU, Dr S Sooryadas and Dr N S Jinesh Kumar, assistant professors, Dr Jacob Alexander, senior veterinary surgeon at Thiruvananthapuram Zoo, Dr Anoop Rajamony, veterinary surgeon at Multispecialty Veterinary Hospital, Peroorkada, Dr Seesma Subramaniyan, senior resident and others.