Meet our newest Angel Fund recipient, Charlie! This beautiful chocolate Lab presented to VREC for retching overnight and a swollen abdomen. When radiographs were taken they indicated gastric dilitation volvulous (GDV), commonly referred to as bloat.
GDV occurs when a dog’s stomach flips or twists internally, trapping air and gases in the stomach. Bloat is truly an emergency requiring immediate action, so our surgery team rushed in to help.
Charlie had a gastrotomy procedure which released all the built-up air and gas from his stomach. Charlie also had a gastropexy (aka pexy) procedure where the stomach is surgically attached to the abdominal wall so it is unable to twist – hopefully preventing this scary situation from ever happening again. Charlie recovered uneventfully and was discharged to his very relieved family.
If you’d like to learn more about a preventative gastropexy procedure for your dog, set up a surgical consultation by calling 570-587-7777.