Closed inguinal castration technique in horses compared with field castrations using post‐operative serum amyloid A analysis

Summary The inflammatory response to a truly closed castration procedure in 51 horses using an inguinal approach was quantified by serum amyloid A (SAA) measurements to be on average 94 mg/L on day three after surgery. The average SAA value after field castrations, using a scrotal approach, was reported by four different investigations to be between 480 and 708 mg/L on day three post‐operatively. The discrepancy in SAA levels between these different approaches proved to be significant ( p < 0.001), quantifying a substantially lower inflammatory response of the closed inguinal technique over regular field castrations using a scrotal approach.