Prophylactic Gastropexy

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by AnjaBlue on 14 January 2009 - 20:01

Years ago I had the procedure done on one of our females, a Malamute - she would eat anything in sight, including plants, twigs, and stones. (She was later diagnosed with Cushing's disease). After swallowing a rock that was too large to pass from her stomach (and looking like she was bloating as a result) I had the vet do the additional surgery at the same time he removed the rock...... I then never had to worry about possible torsion ever again, which was a great relief. There were never any adverse effects from the procedure....again, this was not a GSD, whether or not that makes a difference I can't say.

I suppose it comes down to where your comfort level is - if you feel that you are always going to be worried and on edge, wondering if history is going to repeat itself, this may be the way to go for you.

by Asja on 15 January 2009 - 01:01

I know bloat as well as a dog owner doesn't want to know bloat. My two older shepherds both bloated, a female at eight, and a male at nine. The female always had a touchy stomach, and once she bloated but did not torse,and I didn't know enough at the time to insist upon gastropexy. They only tubed her stomach. She bloated again a few years later and we had to make a midnight run to the emergency vet 45 minutes away. My male dog, I think he had a bad reaction to anaesthesia after having his teeth cleaned; I brough him home from teeth cleaning and he just wasn't right, and my other dog woke me up at 4 am, and Boris was bloating. Another 45 minute drive to the emergency vet. He was screaming in agony, I was sure he would die. He lived, they both did, and both surgeries cost $2000+ each.

So long story short, my younger dog was spayed and tacked at the same time, when she was over 2 years old. I do not ever want to have another dog bloat. My young dog has a very deep chest, I was too worried, and now it's one less thing to worry about, even though she can bloat, fill with gas, but not torse. Torsion kills them. My vet strongly suggested a preventive gastropexy with spay, but I did not need much convincing. I had to leash walk her for a month with no running. That was the most difficult thing, keeping a 2 year old from running. That was a year and half ago, and she's fine. From my point of view, I don't think you have anything to lose.

by Rezkat5 on 15 January 2009 - 02:01

Kind of weird that he mentioned that GSDs and Rotties with parvo. And about them having complications. Any dog can have complications under anesthesia. And any dog can have complications after a surgery.

Since she's being operated on anyway, I don't think that it's a bad idea if the vet does it correctly.

I've considered having it done with a laporascope (sp?) , which they can do now.

I had 16 year old Dobie mix that bloated and we opted for surgery. I figured she didn't live to be 16 to die of bloat. She incredibly made it through and lived almost a year longer. She was also tacked during the surgery in case in happened again she wouldn't twist.

by Aqua on 15 January 2009 - 13:01

We had this done on our 5 yo male as an adjunct to other abdominal surgery he had to have. Having had two dogs bloat and torsion in the past this has given us some peace of mind. We understand he can still bloat but we have a better chance of saving his life without the torsion.

Because there is always a risk with anesthesia and surgery I would probably not do the surgery prophylactically, i.e., as stand-alone, unless there's a familial history of bloat. But for a dog undergoing another procedure already I think it's a good idea.

by gsd39mr on 15 January 2009 - 17:01

In my case I decided not to have it done when my 71/2 yr old was spayed last March. I decided against it due to the increased risks due the fact that she had had 3 litters including 1 c-section; it would have involved a much larger incision and longer anethesia. She is not large chested and is raw fed; after much discussion with my vet, I decided no.

Jo Ann

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