Occurrence and Definitions of Intra and Postoperative Complications Related to Laparoscopy in Equids: A Scoping Review

Laparoscopy and laparoscopic-assisted procedures in equines are nowadays common procedures with several advantages compared to laparotomy. However, despite the numerous benefits of minimally invasive surgery, there can be surgical complications which could have important welfare and economic consequences. Nevertheless, standard definitions of intra and postoperative complications are rarely reported and there is a lack of standard criteria to define and classify complications, limiting comparison of complication rates between studies. Thus, there is a need for implementation of rigorous criteria for defining complications and for greater numbers of research study with high quality of evidence. Adoption of classification systems and standard definitions would help surgeons to have a complete picture of the efficacy of a procedure or treatment and it is also essential to allow comparisons between studies, centers or time periods.