Canine Gastrotomy, Surgical Removal of Foreign Body From Stomach

In this video clip, Doc Pawsitive, Clair Thompson,"Leader of the Pack" is shown performing a gastrotomy procedure on a dog. This dog presented to East Stroudsburg Veterinary Hospital for vomiting and refusing to eat or drink anything 2-3 days after the dog had ingested some bristle-brush type pipe cleaners at home. This particular dog, a young male Bull terrier has already developed the dangerous bad habit of chewing things around the house, as well as swallowing many of the items he's chewed. This dog has already had multiple episodes of vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite and other problems which have previously resolved on their own without veterinary intervention. However, this time the dog appeared to be declining and the owner brought the dog in for a thorough examination and abdominal x-rays, which revealed material that appeared to be lodged in the dogs gastric pylorus. The gastric pylorus is the portion of the stomach where there is a type of natural valve where the stomach narrows down and empties into the small intestines. This narrowing of the gastrointestinal tract is frequently an area that objects get stuck after being swallowed by dogs or cats. Some of the most common items that get stuck in this area as reported by Veterinary Pet Insurance claims are socks, bones, corn cobs, underwear, pantyhose, rocks and balls, not necessarily in that order. Doc Pawsitive prescribed some medication in an attempt to medically resolve this situation but the owner brought the dog back the following day for a surgical exploratory operation, portions of which are shown in this clip. This can be a tricky operation or a quick routine procedure depending on the objects swallowed, how long they've been stuck, where they are stuck and whether or not the stomach or intestines have been perforated or punctured. This particular case went very smoothly as the objects were confined to a single spot, had not been present long and had not perforated the stomach. A similar operation just the previous day on a different dog did not have a successful outcome and the dog died in the post-operative recovery period as that case involved a longer period prior to diagnosis, the dog was in poor condition pre-operatively, there were multiple objects lodged in multiple different areas requiring longer surgical time but most seriously of all, the objects were present long enough to have perforated the intestinal wall leading to leakage of intestinal contents into the abdomen and resultant peritonitis, or serious infection in the abdomen which led to the death of that patient. The takehome message of this Veterianry Public Service Announcement is to provide your dog with appropriate chew toys to reduce the possibility of accidental ingestion or swallowing of other possible dangerous household and yard objects.