# twisted bowel



## Martin Koops (Oct 15, 2009)

My Aunt's 6yo GSD has twisted bowel syndrome she has it at the vet where it's being operated on. 
Just wanted some information on the condition and what she should do to help the dog recover (hopefully).

Never had the condition in any of my Rotties or Malinois so any information would be handy.


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## Keith Earle (Mar 27, 2006)

also called bloat do a search of forums it has been discussed a lot
Good luck


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## Butch Cappel (Aug 12, 2007)

Martin, if the dog is being operated on they will probably staple the stomach which should prevent this from happening again. Torsion which is the killer of the bloat the condition is the second leading cause of death in large dogs, 

That is the official count, I really believe a lot of the sudden deaths, people mark up to "poisoning" or a heart attack, may be twisted bowel. It is a quick killer, within twelve hours and it has very few obvious symptoms.

I had forty five to fifty adult dogs in my guard dog company as a daily average. The breeds were Rott, GSD, & Dobes, mostly with an occasional Mal, or Dutchie mixed in. I learned the hard way, or you could say the expensive way to spot early symptoms of Torsion. I watched for any dog that showed signs of a stomach ache, this is usually indicated with a tucked up sort of position in the dogs posture (kinda hard for me to describe, sorry). the dog may not exhibit pain if you squeeze the stomach because numbness may have set in from lack of blood flow.

Most dogs will appear lethargic and probably isolate themselves from you and other dogs. If I have those two signs I will watch to see if they are drinking water (which usually relieves most peoples fears) If they drink I wait about ten minutes to see if they gag or choke up the water. If they have done this twice, because the water is not passing through I go to my vet for an x-ray QUICK!

I also watch to see if they are urinating or just raising a leg and straining, another sign there could be a blockage. These are about the only signs I have seen for this condition. If you don't spot these little signs the dog is dead in as little as six hours.

If they have performed a gastroplexy on the dog the chances of it getting twisted again are very, very small. If they have not done that operation the chances are very, very, good the dog will "torsion" again in the near future.

This is a little excerpt from my files,I think it is originally from the Tufts Vet school, Hope this helps, good luck;_ Emergency treatment of bloat begins with decompression, or alleviating the gas pressure. This can be accomplished by passing a stomach tube. If a tube cannot be passed due to torsion, the use of a hypodermic needle through the side of the abdomen can help relieve the pressure. If a dog survives decompression but the stomach is still twisted, emergency surgery is required to straighten it. Some dogs may also require removal of a damaged spleen, or a portion of the stomach wall.

Once normal anatomy is re-established, the most important aspect of bloat surgery is a gastropexy. This procedure "tacks" or attaches the stomach wall to the body wall and prevents it from twisting in the future. Studies have shown that 76 percent of dogs that do not have a gastropexy will bloat again; more than half will bloat again within three months. Only 6 percent of dogs that have had a gastropexy have another bloat episode. Dogs that can be stabilized without surgery should have a gastropexy performed as soon as possible. _


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Martin Koops said:


> My Aunt's 6yo GSD has twisted bowel syndrome she has it at the vet where it's being operated on.
> Just wanted some information on the condition and what she should do to help the dog recover (hopefully).
> 
> Never had the condition in any of my Rotties or Malinois so any information would be handy.


Hi Martin, is it the bowel (i.e.-small and large intestine) or the stomach that was twisted?


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## Martin Koops (Oct 15, 2009)

Thanks for the feed back, much appreciated.

Re. Stomach, large or small am not sure will get back to when I've asked.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

I believe that one of the complications of not getting to it fast enough is gangreen (sp) can set in.
Maren?


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Bob Scott said:


> I believe that one of the complications of not getting to it fast enough is gangreen (sp) can set in.





http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000260.htm (about humans but clearly written)

and

http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/information-about-volvulus-treatment-402035.html
_
"Compromised blood supply to the involved segment, together with the increase in intraluminal pressure, leads to gangrene and perforation if unrelieved."_


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Yes, the other big problem is reperfusion injury. When a dog comes in with a suspected gastric dilation and volvulus (bloat), we immediately put in two large bore catheters to get fluids going to prevent a fatal kind of heart arrhythmia that many dogs with GDV get due to electrolyte derangement. So a dog can survive the surgery but die afterwards from cardiac arrest.


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## Martin Koops (Oct 15, 2009)

Maren 
My Aunt asked the treating vet who said the stomach was twisted. 

The dog had surgery about 17 hours ago and has been up for a short walk. His heart is strong and he has already urinated. The next big test is how he handles food which they'lll try tomorrow.

Got my fingers crossed that he'll make it. 

Again thanks for the feed back.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Sounds good, we'll all hope for a speedy recovery.


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