10/28/2026
In honor of 🎃 Halloween week, today we bring you an unusual case from Dr. Quinn! ‼️ Please note, this post does contain photos of a deceased calf with a congenital disorder. These photos are graphic in nature.
It’s teased in large animal medicine that vets will see two to three cases of the rare, fatal congenital disorder schistosomus reflexus during their entire careers. Dr. Quinn saw 2️⃣ within her first six months of graduation, and a third one last fall here at CLS. On the surface, schistosomus reflexus ✨ looks ✨ like a run-of-the-mill dystocia, or birthing difficulty, call. However, veterinarians will pretty quickly realize that there’s nothing normal about this emergency situation.
The disorder means that fetal animals, like this calf, essentially develop inside-out: their spines are inverted, organs exposed, limbs are stiff in fixed positions, and some areas of their bodies are underdeveloped. Dr. Quinn says it’s almost as if the calf did a 180-degree backflip and touched its feet to its back, without having an abdominal wall. The fetal animal is incompatible with life and is stillborn … but it still needs to come out of the birth canal.
“Once we palpate and vaginally examine them and can actually feel what we’re dealing with, and assess the anatomy of the fetal calf, then we decide the best way to go about getting them out,”Dr. Quinn says. “Many of them, because they are deformed in the first place, are not able to come out vaginally because of their size and shape.”
This stillborn calf with schistosomus reflexus was born via C-section on the farm. Some cases require a fetotomy, a surgical procedure during which vets dissect the deceased fetal offspring in utero.
“It’s normally a freak thing,” Dr. Quinn says. “It doesn’t mean the cow needs to be gotten rid of. They can breed back fine. But because of the innate anatomy challenges, they may be predisposed to having uterine challenges. That kind of dystocia doesn’t present normally and they can have pretty worn, irritated, and damaged uterine tissue to begin with.”
Some signs producers can look out for to determine if a dystocia may be related to a schistosomus reflexus disorder are all four feet and the head appear to be coming out simultaneously, locked leg joints that won’t flex in normal angles, and upon palpation it’s possible to touch the offspring’s organs.
‼️ Dr. Quinn does not advise producers to attempt to deliver schistosomus reflexus animals on their own, due to the likely need for surgical intervention. Dystocia in general is considered an emergency no matter what, so please don’t hesitate to call us if you’re within our emergency service radiuses!
Custom Livestock Solutions is Georgia’s proven source for premiere herd health and management services. Our vets serve large animal herds, show barns and stables in the 🍑 Peach State and nearby neighbors in South Carolina. Visit us in Comer Monday through Friday from 9 to 5, or call 706-783-8128 to learn more.
