# Mesenteric Torsion and German Shepherds



## Dana McMahan

Hey everyone,
I just wanted to share this so that everyone who has German Shepherds takes a minute to familiarize themselves with this condition. 

A good friend and club member is going through a tragedy. On Tuesday her young male dog died suddenly, within 6 hours of showing his first symptom and her second dog fell ill soon after. The second dog has been stabilized (you can find out the story by clicking the link for Jovi under "news") but its been an uphill battle for recovery, with her being given an 8% chance is survival. 

I've been in dogs a long time and never heard of Mesenteric Torsion. This is NOT your normal bloat so take a minute to read over the information so its not too late for your own dogs if they get this rare, but very fatal problem. 

Mesenteric Torsion is when the intestines, not the stomach, begin flipping over cutting off circulation to vital organs. The mortality rate is close to 100% and it is most commonly seen in German Shepherds. Because the symptoms are so vague, its often not caught until it is too late to do surgery. There is no real predisposition but there seems to be a link between mesenteric torsion and other abdominal irritants such as EPI, IBD, etc. You can read more about that on this page:

http://www.wsgenetics.org/mesenteric_torsion.htm


Ed Frawley put together a page sharing various people's stories of their experience with Mesenteric Torsion. The link is here:

http://leerburg.com/bloat.htm


It seems that the dog usually has vomiting and/or diarrhea and shows some discomfort but there is no distended stomach or panting/pacing which is indicative of stomach bloating. The symptoms may continue for a few hours but by the time they progress, its too late. The dog who passed away vomited two separate times within the hours leading up to his death. He was rushed to the vet when he vomited blood and it was too far gone at that point. 

The few dogs I've read about surviving this condition were rushed to the vet immediately and exploratory surgery was started which saved the dogs life.

If anyone has experience with Mesenteric Torsion, please do share as there isn't a huge amount of information on it available online. And be aware that just because your dog isn't showing ALL the classic bloat signs, it could be mesenteric torsion which is not as obvious but significantly more deadly and its always best to get to the vet immediately if something like this is suspected, particularly with the German Shepherd breed and if there is an additional issue as well like EPI, IBD, etc. 

Hopefully this helps bring some awareness and if we get more information it will be posted for everyone.


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## rick smith

BAD tragedy made even worse since it hits TWO dogs in one household ...seems rare and very strange this would hit as a double whammy in one place ??

Tx for the link .... but there is no data presented that links the predisposition for this to EPI/SIBO/TGS, etc 

- if studies have been done to show the increased likelihood to have a MT for dogs with these problems, than it would be something to really worry about...otherwise all you can do is worry about it and hope you guess right quick enough when these symptoms occur

btw, which conditions did these two dogs have ??


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## Ariel Peldunas

Both of her dogs had this condition? Was there some predisposing factor that caused both dogs to get it (diet, exercise routine, etc.) at nearly the same time?

I have never heard of this either. Thank you for the information. Seems so strange and unfortunately coincidental that both dogs would suffer from something so rare at the same time. I'd be interested to know if there was something that could be attributed to what she has gone through that would help others avoid the same.


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## Dana McMahan

Yes, to me, it seems like the mesenteric torsion was caused by something else in the environment to have it happen to two dogs in the same house in such a short period of time. The vet does not know of any type of poison that could set it off. There is not a lot of concrete information but it is something to be aware of regardless and hopefully they are able to autopsy the first dog for more information.


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## Dana McMahan

"Mesenteric torsion
Another condition that has been documented in dogs with EPI is mesenteric torsion; however, a causal relationship has not been proved. In one study, 21 of 255 dogs with EPI developed mesenteric torsion, and 18 of the affected dogs were undergoing treatment with pancreatic enzyme supplements.7 Eight of the dogs were euthanized, four dogs died at home before treatment for torsion was instituted, and nine of the dogs underwent surgery to correct the torsion but died during recovery from anesthesia. All the dogs that developed mesenteric torsion were German shepherds, which represent 10% of the German shepherds studied. Forty-two collies with EPI were in the study, and none of them developed mesenteric torsion.7"

Source: http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.co...iseases/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/622455


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## rick smith

i hope they find what might have caused this

pasted from the link : "but evidence has brought to light the fact that this is occurring with ever increasing incidence and has been seen to occur more commonly in German Shepherds than any other breed. The symptoms of this condition are rapid onset of shock, abdominal pain and vomiting. The twisting stops the blood flowing to the intestines, causing tissues to necrotize (in other words: ROT) immediately. This condition causes a dilemma for veterinarians as the symptoms are obtuse and diagnosis is difficult. The dog is usually “down” – in shock, making any surgical options a tough decision. By the time the dog shows any symptoms and you get it to the vet, the torsion has caused the intestines to lose their blood/nutrient supply and also the blood vessels begin to rupture causing internal hemorrhaging. Any condition that predisposes the dog to abdominal pain and/or intestinal irritant can be a predisposing cause of mesenteric torsion."

i'm all for educating but :
1. "ever increasing incidence" ???? from what data ????
2. "symptoms of this condition are rapid onset of shock, abdominal pain and vomiting" ...could be a LOT of other things besides this and i don't know how you could observe the symptom of abdominal pain ... it's not something a dog will show visually and one would probably have to know where to palpate the intestines, etc
3. "Any condition that predisposes the dog to abdominal pain and/or intestinal irritant can be a predisposing cause of mesenteric torsion" ????? why would this be true ????

like i said i'm all for learning, so thanks, but i think this particular link is more of a scare thing, rather than a factual report on an increasing problem for gsd's .

you better just hope it never happens to your dog rather than think you will be able to do much about it if it does. 

*** the only GOOD thing that might result from this tragedy is, since it happened to TWO dogs in the same household at ruffly the same time, "maybe" a causative factor CAN be linked to shed light on the problem. i hope a VERY in depth analysis of ALL factors involved are checked out in hopes these tragic deaths may help other dogs avoid it ... autopsies alone may fall short imo


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## susan tuck

Dana thanks for starting this thread. Ever since this happened I've been thinking of starting a thread about it in the hopes of hearing from others who may have more experience or knowledge about this condition. We do have two veterinarians who are members of this board, I am hoping they will chime in on this thread.

With our friend, when it hit the first dog, the symptom was he vomited twice. Similar to what I've read in other people's accounts of their dogs who have also had this condition.


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## susan tuck

Denise and Jovi could really use everyone's good wishes and prayers. It looked like Jovi was going to be well enough to go home yesterday but she took a turn for the worse. Hopefully the blood transfusion will work today.

http://jovimedical.chipin.com/jovi-vom-danubius-medical-bills


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## Maren Bell Jones

Since I do don't really any emergency work, I couldn't tell you my real world prevalence with mesenteric torsion. If someone calls me and describes GDV-like symptoms, even if it's something else, I refer right away and tell them to call the emergency facility as they are driving.


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## rick smith

sure hope the dog pulls thru, but seems like it would be tuff for it to have much QOL if those intestines were damaged as bad as it sounds...will that kind of tissue regenerate and repair itself ?

wow, i had no idea ER care could be that expensive


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## Maren Bell Jones

You can remove up to 50-60% of the small intestine without major complication, if the rest of the surgery and after care goes okay. One of the big problems in both GDV and probably something like mesenteric torsion is going to be reperfusion injury, where the damaged and necrotic tissue sends all the bad stuff into the systemic circulation.


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## susan tuck

Denise posted a link to an interesting article: http://www.campusveterinariosenweb.com/file.php/1/moddata/forum/14/50905/volvulo_intestinal.pdf

In Denise's dogs case, they had not undergone any exercise prior to Mesenteric Torsion presenting itself. Her vets are considering that since both of her dogs were affected, it may be dietary.


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## Laura Briggs

What a terrible time for Denise- my thoughts are with her.

From the link that Susan posted:

"The German shepherd dog is the most commonly affected breed, and nearly all reported cases (38 dogs) have died."

Does anyone know why the GSD is so susceptible? Is it related to a particular body structure (narrow chest, etc.)? Or is it more that GSD owners bring their dogs to the vet (ie. a reporting bias)? 

Just trying to learn more about this affliction as I own two GSDs.


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## Dana McMahan

Here was another intersting link on a related condition, colon torsion:

http://www.lissa.net/Joya/jupiter_torsion.htm

Quote from the page:
"She also said that torsion can occur anywhere in their digestive tract because a Dane's organs have room to move around in their large body cavity. There is no known cause for colon torsion. Dr. Evans had only seen 4 dogs torse their colon in her 20+ year career. Three were Great Danes and only one survived. "

Another article on digestive issues in German Shepherds:
http://www.dogstuff.info/digestive_tract_disorders.html

"Less likely are other types of torsion, but they can be as life-threatening. Splenic torsion can occur without gastric twisting, and an even more rare disorder is mesenteric root torsion. The mesentery is the white, fibrous, web-like or film-like tissue that connects the various sections of intestines to each other and to the abdominal wall. Blood vessels travel through the mesentery, and if there is a twisting there, regardless of whether the intestine itself is closed off, the blood supply can be halted and the intestinal tissue can become necrotic. Bloody diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal swelling and/or pain, and shock or general collapse can be symptomatic. It may be the same as what some call “twisted intestines”. So few dogs survive that it is impossible to prevent recurrence or conclusively predict whether those are at greater risk for another attack than any other dog is."


And this was the very intersting article.... in response to all the things we have always heard about bloat before (the chest size, elevated feeding dishes, etc... where all that information came from and whether its reliable information or not)

http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/on_my_soap_box_purdue_bloat_study.htm


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