19/03/2025
Intestinal obstruction caused by foreign body in a corgi dog.
We had a very challenging case that put our skills to the test and once more , when things get tough thats when we stand out.
3 weeks ago we had an evening emergency call , a dog vomiting and not eating for a week that was being followed at another clinic.
A diagnosis was made pretty quickly that this dog needed emergency surgery to remove a foreign body that had been eaten a week ago.
Surgery was immediately performed and as expected, the portion of the small intestines were the foreign body was stuck was in pretty bad condition, showing signs of congestion and poor perfusion.
In a normal situation this would be solved by resecting that portion of intestine and suturing back the ends together however this foreign body was exactly at the portion of the intestine that that is just not possible. The first centimetres near the stomach , when the small intestine starts are full of very important structures attached or connected with ( pancreas, bile ducts, pancreatic ducts ) and this is was exactly were the foreign body was stuck, so removing that segment of intestine was not an option.
After careful deliberation with the owners it was decided to just remove the foreign body by performing an incision ( enterotomy ) , remove the foreign body and close the incision and patching it with some omentum .
The risks of complications were very high , including intestinal sutures not holding , intestinal tissue necrosis leading to fatal peritonitis.
The dog against all odds survived, the intestine healed with complications regarding abdominal wound healing that required a second surgery to repair a major abdominal hernia ( that was controlled by suturing the omentum to the wound edges, reinforced muscle sutures and a compression bandage).
Mango stayed for 2 weeks at the hospital to monitor the wound and after being discharged she came back yesterday to remove skin sutures.
She is doing very well at home and out of danger
Thanks to all our the vets, nurses and a bit of luck we achieved a great outcome.