Obstructed?...

RE: Obstructed?...

Jill Butterworth — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 18:18:17 GMT

Hi, I saw this a bit late, but my cheap and cheerful suggestion that has got me out of trouble/helped me decide what to do on many occasions is to give some oral barium (and cheaper than BIPS), even if the owner can't afford a full Ba series, The rational being that if it is gastroenteritis, the Ba will usually whizz through and you can sleep soundly, and the owner will report it in the faeces too; if you get the chance to re-radiograph, the Ba will be slow and or show a partial obstruction as was probably the case here. If there is gut perforation and it leaks into the peritoneum, don't panic, it will afford you a much faster diagnosis than if you had waited. You were lucky here, sweetcorn husks often do cause obstruction, and you can often see them with the retroscope...

RE: Obstructed?...

Iain McAllister — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 09:09:23 GMT

Yeah I saw that thread... my opinion is that you should have a full and frank discussion on finances and that includes asking if they have pet insurance and what their fees cover is - it's all about helping the pet - the more information I have the more I can help it..

RE: Obstructed?...

Anthony Todd — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 23:12:20 GMT

[quote user="Iain McAllister"]10 days after being seen she passed a piece of corn cob - just the core - and hasn't looked back since... [/quote]

Wasn't she, and you lucky..... [see current insurance?? thread, and threads passim]

Do you wonder why I emphasise corn cobs, particularly KFC....

RE: Obstructed?...

Iain McAllister — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 11:34:47 GMT

Update - we were limited by owners finances on doing any further work up ( rads/scope/ultrasound or ex lap)- so I just treated symptomatically - pain relief and antacids - vomiting was not a constant feature - appetite was poor but interestingly very little weight loss - demeanour was variable - 10 days after being seen she passed a piece of corn cob - just the core - and hasn't looked back since...

RE: Obstructed?...

Utlendigur — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 18:38:07 GMT

It sounds a bit like a case I inherited a few weeks ago. Middle aged labrador, vomiting, suspicion of FB so it had an ex lap 24-48hrs previously. No FB found but massive localised inflammation in the duodenum and pancreas. Improved initially then just persistent vomiting, anorexia and abdo pain. Bloods showed moderate increase in amylase and TBIL. No sign of peritonitis. Biopsies came back as very severe duodenal ulceration with superficial necrosis, and pancreatitis (which was thought to be secondary). The suspicion was that a Fb had lodged there causing the damage and had then gone. The dog improved rapidly when omeprazole and metoclop was added (already on zantac, cerenia, antibiotics) but took nearly a week to recover.

RE: Obstructed?...

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 17:28:04 GMT

[quote user="Anthony Todd"]Would the dog not tend to vomit it up and sometimes you must get a equivocal result???[/quote]

No.

RE: Obstructed?...

Anthony Todd — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 17:26:51 GMT

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]

If you are concerned about bowel obstruction radiography with BIPS is a great way of determining yes or no. It also gives you useful information about gastric emptying. Simple and not expensive.

[/quote]

Would the dog not tend to vomit it up and sometimes you must get a equivocal result???

RE: Obstructed?...

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 17:21:44 GMT

If you are concerned about bowel obstruction radiography with BIPS is a great way of determining yes or no. It also gives you useful information about gastric emptying. Simple and not expensive.

RE: Obstructed?...

Anthony Todd — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 17:13:32 GMT

[quote user="Francisco Gomez"]I'd have a look and try explain the 'economic and welfare benefits' of an early exploratory surgery [/quote]

Plus 1 [as usual] as you can eliminate everything and delay may not be good.

Metoclopramide always suited me, as if there was vomiting through it, I'd know there was almost always something serious going on, unless other signs were very good.

Start timing the delay so far, to say nothing of the cost....

RE: Obstructed?...

Iain McAllister — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 16:24:33 GMT

thanks for the replies - will let you know how it goes..

RE: Obstructed?...

Tim Charlesworth — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 16:03:36 GMT

I can't see definite evidence of obstruction. There is a reasonable amount of fundic gas and not a lot of serosal detail on the DV. I would try ultrasound and look for any obstruction - functional (ileus/pancreatitis etc) or mechanical (further FB). I'd also check the uterus! I would tx with antacids but wouldn't give any prokinetics (eg metoclop) until you've ruled out obstruction.

Tim

RE: Obstructed?...

Francisco Gomez — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 15:39:40 GMT

There is a lot of gas in that stomach - even if your ex-lap was negative, removing that amount of gas would give a lot of comfort to that animal IMO.

I'd have a look and try explain the 'economic and welfare benefits' of an early exploratory surgery - I was going to suggest ultrasound, but with that amount of gas I don't think you'll see a thing.