Any positive outcome stories for dogs intestinal surgery with resection & anastomosis

[Meshach]

My 7 year old corgi had to have emergency surgery on Sunday afternoon because of a foreign object obstruction in his small intestine, unfortunately they had to do a resection & anastomosis because of some damage. I am not sure how much they took out. It sounded like it was right on the edge of whether to do a resection or not and vet did not feel comfortable leaving it in.

I brought him home Tuesday night because he wasn’t not interested in eating in the clinic and they thought he might do better at home. Last night he barely ate some baby food just once but just now (Wednesday AM) ate some baby food and some boiled chicken by hand.

The object looked to me possibly like some mulch. Not too long ago we covered some areas with triple shredded hardwood mulch. He normally does not eat non-food items so out of character for him, we will have to be very careful from now on with him and my 1 yr old corgi.

He is on Tramadol 50 mg every 8 hours and Gabapentin 100 mg every 8 hours. He’s pretty sedated. I am going to talk to vet today about these meds. Not sure if it is too much.

Anyone else have a similar experience with their dogs and it all turned out ok?

[sisu27]

My mum had a similar situation with a app 9 yo Dobe. Foreign body was a squishy cat toy. Had a large section removed. Recovery was ROUGH. Dog did not tolerate being hospitalized at all. Sorry can’t remember the med situation. Dog eventually recovered and lived to 13. Euthanized due to bloat/torsion. Should have had a pexi while they were in there years before but for some reason did not. I doubt Corgis have the same risk for bloat/torsion due to their anatomy.

Hope he is feeling much better soon!

[Marshfield]

That’s a lot of gabapentin for the average corgi. I suspect if you back off the gabapentin, you might see more interest in food. Not my own dog, but a patient of mine required an R & A this summer. I took out about ten inches of intestines. She’s doing fine. I’ve probably done a half dozen over the past 5 years. And while they took a little longer than a simple enterotomy, they all did well.

[mp]

Yes and it was a good outcome.

Our dog was acting mopey and not eating much for a few days – didn’t seem to be in pain, just not herself. Our vet was stumped until he did an x-ray – there was bullet lodged in her intestines. Someone had shot her and the entry wound was in a swirl of hair just behind her ribs, making it hard to see.

They resectioned her intestine – not sure how much was taken out, but it was substantial – and she came home a few days later. We fed her small amounts of bland dog food and gradually increased as her appetite got better. But it still took probably three weeks before she was back to normal.

She was around 6 when this happened and she made it to age 15. She was one tough dog.

[Anne]

Most of these do quite well. The biggest risk is leakage at the R/A site, which results in a septic abdomen and requires a repeat surgery. In an otherwise-healthy dog with a normal albumin at the time of sx, this is not usually a problem (if the anastomosis is sewn or stapled well). BUT nutrition will help the liver continue to make albumin, so I agree with Marshfield; if the corgi’s appetite doesn’t pick up over the next 24 hours, I would ask about reducing the gabapentin. Monitor for fever and lethargy/depression at home. If they’re going to leak, the danger point is about 3 days out. Good luck!

[Horsegal984]

We do at least one a week and the majority do quite well. Heck, one dog has had 2 R&A’s and a total of 5 foreign body surgeries now. Think they have all been socks.

I agree with Anne and Marshfield, seems like a lot of gabapentin to me too. Is he on any GI meds? We ususally send home with an antacid or GI protectant and Flagyl.

[Anne]

Conversely, other than a dose or two of periop cefazolin, I don’t keep these dogs on antibiotics (unless the abdomen was septic at the time of surgery). If it’s going to leak, I want to know ASAP.

[Meshach]

They did not give me any GI meds but is there anything OTC I can give him? He is not on any antibiotics.

They gave me the Gabapentin as a capsule so not easily split. I spoke with the clinic and they said I could drop the Tramadol (or the Gabapentin which I decided to do instead). He’s still moving slowly and a bit foggy but I would say more alert than yesterday and a bit more interested in food periodically.

We started out strong with boiled chicken yesterday but interest in that waned. This am he was more interested in his boring old kibble so gave him some of that. Then later, some very plain small dog treats (charlee bear treats). I am trying to offer food often but small amounts each time. He did have two bowel movements, one yesterday evening and this morning so I am assuming that is a good sign.

Thank you so much for all your advice and experience, so helpful!

[csaper58]

Last year my 2 yr old Australian Shepherd had resection and anastomosis due to pythiosis. It was done at the vet school.

He was sent home on Prescription G.I. Diet canned food (Royal Canin)

My advice is to feed many, small, warm, soft, meals. My dog liked warm, very soupy things to start. Just a little (2 Tbs. to 1/4 cup) every couple of hours round the clock. I would suggest you mince the chicken, or try Gerber chicken baby food. The diet needs to be bland, and easily digested.

The vet said the goal was to keep a little something trickling thru his gut all the time. I was warned not to feed anything hard or scratchy like kibble or biscuits for several weeks, as it could cause severe irritation and very painful gas.

He was on Prilosec, and an anti nausea medication, antibiotics, antifungals, and the same pain meds as your dog.

Plus, Proviable a probiotic that helps restore the flora in the damaged gut. He was on the Proviable KP then switched to the DC capsules. Valley Vet had the best price.

www.nutramaxlabs.com/dog/dog-digestive-health

Are you monitoring for fever? Anything over 102* means you need to call the vet.

Is he drinking water? If not, try warm water or unsalted broth.

My dog is 3yrs now and doing well, as long as there are no dietary indiscretions (like eating cat poop).

Jingles for you and your pup.

[csaper58]

Thinking about y’all, and wondering how your pup is doing?