 |
CASE
STUDY:
“Jake” is a 12-year-old male Standard Poodle who
was presented to the Animal Emergency Center at 3:00 am for
repeated retching. At presentation he had signs of severe
shock and a severely distended abdomen. The emergency doctors
quickly obtained permission from Jake’s family to start
treatment and immediate infusion of intravenous fluids, pain
medication, and decompression of his stomach were provided.
Emergency blood work indicated that blood flow to the tissues
was severely compromised, blood sugar was low, and there was
evidence of internal bleeding. An EKG confirmed a severe heart
electrical problem (arrhythmia) which required antiarrhythmic
medication.
Once Jake’s vital signs had
improved a radiograph was taken (below left) which demonstrated
a severely dilated and malpositioned stomach known as Gastric
Dilatation-Volvulus syndrome ( GDV or“bloat”).
A normal abdominal is on the right for comparison. Red arrows
outline the stomach. |
| Jake’s
family had to rapidly make serious decisions. Although success
rates are very high with treatment of most GDV patients at the
AEC, Jake had signs indicating vital organs (e.g. the heart,
stomach) were affected. Emergency surgery was his best chance
for making a full recovery. Jake’s family decided to try
everything to promote his full recovery. Once
stabilized, Jake was rapidly prepared for anesthesia and surgery.
Anesthetic monitoring included continuous EKG, blood pressure,
oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, and blood tests. At surgery,
a surgical stapling device was used to rapidly remove parts
of the stomach that were devitalized. The spleen was removed
due to large blood clots in splenic blood vessels. The stomach
wall was attached to the body wall (gastropexy) to prevent
recurrence of stomach rotation.
Jake was transferred to the AEC intensive
care unit (ICU) after surgery. Jake still had a long road
to recovery ahead of him. The severity of Jake’s illness
placed him at risk for blood infection, peritonitis, lung,
heart, and/or kidney failure, and blood clots. Specially trained
ICU nurses carefully monitored fluid input and output, vital
signs, level of pain, and neurological function. Because of
the amount of blood lost, Jake required a blood transfusion
from a volunteer canine blood donor
Click here for blood donor brochure.
Jake also had profound weakness attributed
to degenerative joint disease and/or spinal disease and needed
additional rehabilitation treatments to help him move around
during his hospitalization. Jake’s family enlisted the
assistance of a veterinary nurse skilled in rehabilitation
to provide massage. In addition, his owners, constructed a
special sling to help him regain his strength at home. He
was discharged on New Year’s Eve, 5 days after his surgery.
The family has since generously donated the sling they built
to the AEC to aid other animals during their post-operative
recovery.
“It was certainly a roller
coaster during the holiday break but once he (Jake) came home
he seemed to spring right back. He's even returned to carrying
his wool camel around and incessantly trying to clean our
ornery old mini schnauzer. It only took three days before
he was walking unassisted. Now he's trotting around at a rapid
pace and his chest incision is nearly healed up. I have attached
a picture of him this afternoon out in the yard.
Our family has named him the Christmas Miracle
Poodle! He has touched so many people during his life and
we were all praying for his recovery. We know that Jake is
alive today because of your staff!
Bravo to every member of your staff!”
 |
Jake’s
story is one of many that illustrates how the combination
of a dedicated family, strong-willed patient, committed
medical staff and state-of-the-art medical care can
result in successful treatment of severely ill and injured
pets. For additional information on GDV, please read
our informational brochure.
Click here for GDV
brochure |
|
