Emergency Surgery

When emergencies happen, Pet Kare Clinic is ready to help. We have a 24 hour on call staff of doctors and technicians with full diagnostics available. Our doctors and after hours staff are well equiped to handle most any surgical emergency.

The 3 most common life-threatening surgical emergencies we see regularly:

• Gastric Dilitation Volvulus (GDV, aka bloat) - Client Handout on GDV
  • GDV is the mother of all emergencies because the stomach has twisted upon itself, squeezing off the blood supply to the stomach and possibly spleen. If the surgery is not performed within minutes the patient will die.
  • The patient usually presents with a distended abdomen, difficulty breathing, pale mucous membranes, and a rapid heartbeat. Many times the dog is "trying to vomit". The stomach becomes distended and then torsion occurs.
  • GDV occurs most frequently in deep-chested dogs: (Great Danes, St. Bernards, Weimaraners, Akitas, Standard Poodles, Malamutes, Irish Setters, etc. If you have one of these breeds, or another dog who has a very thin deep chest, a prophylactic gastropexy can be performed to prevent occurance. We can now perform the gastropexy through minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopy) at the time of spay or neuter.
  
  
• Foreign Body Obstruction (object stuck somewhere in the GI tract)
  • Dogs and cats often eat strange things and when these objects cannot pass through the intestines safely they need to be surgically removed.
  • The most common surgical foreign bodies are: corn cobs, sticks, underwear, cloth, string, bones, and rocks.
  
  
• Splenectomy (Hemoabdomen from a bleeding splenic tumor) Client Handout on Splenectomies
  • Splenectomies are usually emergencies due to the large amount of blood an animal can loose into its abdomen from a ruptured spleen or splenic tumor.

One of the most common (usually not life-threatening) injuries that we see at our clinic each winter are skiing injuries! Dogs skiing with their owners, downhill or cross-country, often get an arm, leg or foot caught under a ski's edge. Many times these injuries require extensive surgical repairs due to deep tendon lacerations or transections.

If there is tendon involvement the prognosis is often guarded and at a minimum requires 6-8 weeks of immobilization, bandage changes and restricted activity.

Occasionally we see arterial lacerations from skis that can be life-threatening. The life of your dog may depend on the level of first aid they recieve on the way to the hospital.

If your dog has been cut and is bleeding apply direct pressure with a soft compressive dressing and your fingers. DO NOT place a turniquet. Please get your dog to the hospital as soon as possible and please don't place anything into the wound (ie. no neosporin, hydrogen peroxide etc.)