A strategic plan to improve fertility rates after handling dystocia in Egyptian buffaloes

Abstract

The study investigated how veterinarians' management decisions during dystocia affected postpartum fertility in buffaloes. Conducted from October 2020 to September 2023, the study examined 288 buffaloes out of 655 dystocia cases observed at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Egypt. Dystocia was evident in all the cases reviewed, as reported by the owners. After conducting vaginal examinations, the selected cases were identified to have fetal malposition (FM), incomplete cervical dilatation (ICD), or uterine torsion (UT). Out of the 288 buffaloes included in the study, 192 were chosen to test the research hypothesis. The first line of treatment for these animals involved either a cesarean section (n = 75), correction of fetal malposition (n = 35), management of insufficient cervical dilatation (n = 27), or detorsion of uterine torsion (n = 55). In the number of cases where the initial treatment was unsuccessful—such as fetal malposition (n = 20), incomplete cervical dilatation (n = 12), or uterine torsion (n = 20)—a cesarean section was performed as a secondary option to resolve the issues causing the failure of fetal expulsion.