Hi Manny
I am glad Athena
seems ok so far. I'd read that gastric torsion is a life-threatening,
critical emergency. I haven't read or heard much about the recovery process
since I'm not really sure I have ever heard of anyone actually catching
gastric torsion in time enough to save their dog. It sounds as if it is
still hit and miss, so my prayers and hopes are with Athena.
We lost one of our
Pyrs to the 'bloat' about 10 years ago. We had three Newfs, a Bouvier and a
Pyr. My husband and I went on a long run and came home to find our 8-year old
Pyr crawled in his dog house to die. We later find out the cause.The mistake
we made was allowing our dogs to self-feed.
Back then we had
only a peripheral understanding about bloat. To this day I cannot believe how
niave we were. I consider myself knowledgeable on the subject now.
From then on eating became a focused and structured activity at our
house. I prepare our dogs meals and of course our subsequent Pyrs
had to eat separately anyway. It is the quirkiest habit; I know, but to
this day I burp my dogs after they eat. Now we just have our 20-month old pup
Kodiak and he is used to it.
Take care Manny and
love to Athena
Christine
PS I have seen
those emergency bloat kits and they are pretty daunting. They are more for
gastric-dilation volvulus (not torsion) and believe there is a rubber hose, a
bore needle and some other things. I think it takes a practiced and skilled
person to use one so I really just keep in mind the preventative
measures.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Amy Bailey"
<amy.bailey@myfairpoint.net>
To: pyrnet-l@pyrnet.org
Sent:
Thursday, November 5, 2009 1:04:13 PM
Subject: RE: [pyrnet] Scary Medical
Emergency
Thank
goodness you noticed something was different. It is so easy to be tired
and just not observe a small change â Athenaâs guardian angel was
watching! Please let us all know how her recovery proceeds and thanks
for the info so we all consider bloat if we see a change.
BTW
does the vet recommend the preventative surgery for all Pyrs or for relatives
of dogs who have had bloat?
Amy
with Charlie, Sweetie and Harry Pugger
From:
owner-pyrnet-l@pyrnet.org [mailto:owner-pyrnet-l@pyrnet.org] On Behalf Of
Manny Fernandez, Jr.
Sent: Thursday, November 05, 2009 1:34
PM
To: pyrnet-l-digest@pyrnet.org
Subject: [pyrnet] Scary
Medical Emergency
Well we took the parental units up to Prescott, AZ to see
my Wife's Sister
and her Husband. Had a great time. We rented
a minivan and drove up there
stopping in Palm Springs for a night so
Victoria's parents could see some of
their old friends. We took
Athena and stayed at a Marriott Residence Inn.
So Prescott was kind
of fun. We returned on Sunday-dropped off the parents
and took back
the minivan. We had given her water throughout the trip
home,
but the air seemed very dry. The trip each way was about 450 miles.
We had an area where Athena could stand or sit or lay down (though she was
never comfortable enough to lay down for any amount of time in the
Van. She
tends to be somewhat shy and nervous.
Got home about
9 pm and we gave Athena some water to drink. She was really
thirsty
and drank the water up quickly then went outside. We noticed that
she was lying on the grass which is typical for her. She moved
around a bit
and then came in. Victoria noticed what she thought was
foam coming out of
her mouth. Athena kind of moved around the house
and finally got on her
couch. Victoria said something seemed wrong
like she was bloated. Victoria
called the Vet Hospital and asked
some questions. We were aware that bloat
can become a real problem
if not treated. They suggested that perhaps we
should bring her in
to check and make sure she wasn't suffering from bloat
or what they call
gastric torsion. Bloat can be caused by eating too
quickly trapping
air in their stomachs. Anyway Athena seemed to be
comfortable on the
sofa. I looked up bloat on the internet and read the
details out
loud. We were both kind of concerned because it can be really
dangerous. We checked her stomach and it was really hard, which is
one of
the symptoms. Bloat and gastric torsion is where the stomach
twists and
cuts off blood to the stomach and other organs.
We
decided to make her get up and go get into the car. We drove to the Vet
Hospital. They said they needed to take some x-rays and so we agreed
and I
signed a credit card voucher for $300.00. The Vet came back
out and said
yes she was suffering from gastric torsion. Her stomach
had rotated or
twisted inside cutting off the blood supply. We had
less than 30 minutes to
operate or she would expire. The Vet asked
us if we wanted them to operate
and of course we said yes please go
forward. I gave them my credit card and
signed for $5000.00 so that
they could begin.
They first had to stabilize her blood pressure so
that they could give her
the required anesthesia. We waited around
for about an hour. They told us
to go home and that they would
call. We should expect to hear around 11:30.
I called in about 11:30
and she was still in surgery. At 1:30 am the Vet
called and said
that they had removed her spleen because it may have been
damaged by
the lack of blood and pressure of the stomach against it. My
heart
just stopped. I knew that if they had to remove any of her stomach
because of a lack of blood that she would only have a 50% chance of
recovery. Fortunately, they did not have to remove any of the
stomach. The
Vet did say her stomach was very red and looked angry
but felt that none of
the tissue had died. Timing is everything, so
had we been there a bit
later, I am sure we would have lost her. She
said the next 24 hours were of
concern. We asked if we could come
see her in the morning and the Vet said
yes that would be
possible.
So on Monday about 10 am we went to the hospital and saw
her. She was under
heavy sedation but recognized us. She had a
incision that looked about 15
inches long in her stomach area. We
hadn't sleep very well the night
before. I studied her condition on
the internet which just freaked me out.
We ended up coming back again that
evening and talked to the doctor 3 or 4
times. So Monday evening the
Vet indicated that she might be able to come
home if they could get her to
eat and drink (insuring that her stomach was
ok). Athena often
refuses to eat when she is not with us. So we were a
little
concerned. She was being given fluids and medications through her
two IVs but they needed to make sure she could handle food before letting
her go home.
Around 6 am today Tuesday the Vet called and said that
they tried everything
to get her to eat. They boiled chicken, tried
all kinds of dog food but no
dice. The Vet understood that Athena
was nervous and decided that we should
come get her and take her
home. So that is what we did. She has been
sleeping now most
all of the day. We gave her a small amount of special dog
food
(Science Diet ID) and she ate it. So we are hoping all is ok. For
the
next 14 days she can not run around or go upstairs etcetera.
After fourteen
days we can have the staples removed from her
stomach.
To prevent the gastric torsion from happening again they
attached her
stomach to the muscle tissue to prevent rotation. She
can still get bloat
(trapping of air in her stomach) but her stomach
should not rotate. We
don't know what caused the rotation. The
Vet thought that her spleen may
have been enlarged, however there were no
signs of tumor, or other tell tale
signs of common problems.
I am
still dumbfounded that this whole event occurred in the first place.
One
of the reasons I am telling you all about this is that apparently it is
common in large breed, deep-chested dogs. The Vet said that in the
last few
years they have perfected a minimal operation where they attach
the stomach
wall inside the body to prevent the rotation. They
only require about a
1/2 inch incision and it can be done even when a
young dog is being
neutered. Go figure! Had we lost her I
think both of us would have just
been devastated. She after all is
our daughter.
It is Thursday and Athena seems a bit better. We
have been giving her the
medications prescribed. The pain killers
knock her out and she sleeps. We
decided to pull back a bit on the
pain killers so that she is more alert.
She is able to pee so that is
good. The Vet said that she probably will not
eliminate for 4 to 5
days. The Pain pills also cause constipation so we are
a little
concerned. We will monitor her very carefully to see that she is
not
in any pain.
We were always aware of Bloat but never thought it would
happen to her. She
free feeds and never really eats a lot at one
time. She does drink a lot
when she wants water though. We
have to be careful about that. I strongly
recommend that everyone on
this forum check into this situation so that you
are aware and know what
to look for. It is a silent killer that can happen
in two
hours.
Manny