Stories That Inspire

Obi is a four year old Dobermann who was staying at a local kennel. The kennel hands noticed one afternoon he had vomited and had a rounded belly appearance. They immediately brought him up to the clinic.
Obi was sedated straight away and x rays were taken of his abdomen. It was clear from the x rays that Obi had gastric dilatation and volvulus, otherwise known as bloat or twisted stomach.

This is a catastrophic disease of deep chested dogs and sometimes follows after intense exercise then a very large meal. This was not the case with Obi, he appeared to have a spontaneous GDV.
When the stomach turns on itself it blocks both the entrance and the exit to the stomach. Bacteria quickly proliferate producing gas which leads to distension of the stomach, then eventually rupture. It can also block the blood flow to the spleen.
After discussion with the owner Obi was quickly prepped for surgery and an exploratory laparotomy was performed. We were able to untwist his stomach and remove all his gastric contents. To prevent reoccurence, Obi had a procedure called a gastropexy. This will stop him having issues in the future. Thankfully his spleen was normal.
Obi recovered very well with pain relief and IV fluids and went home in 2 days. Today he is bouncing around like nothing happened! We are so thankful to the kennel who noticed his signs and brought him to us so quickly!