Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Risk of stomach twisting after spleen removal surgery in dogs
By Grange, Andrew M et al.Ā·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical AssociationĀ·2012Ā·Angell Animal Medical Center, United StatesĀ·View original on PubMed ā
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Original publication title: Evaluation of splenectomy as a risk factor for gastric dilatation-volvulus.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs that had their spleens removed (splenectomy) was studied to see if they were more likely to develop a serious stomach condition called gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV), which can cause bloating and twisting of the stomach. The results showed that the risk of GDV was similar in dogs that had splenectomy compared to those that had a different surgery (enterotomy). However, intact male dogs had a higher chance of developing GDV after the surgery. Overall, the findings suggest that routine preventive surgery to protect against GDV during spleen removal may not be necessary, and other individual risk factors should be considered.
People also search for: dog splenectomy risks Ā· gastric dilatation volvulus in dogs Ā· GDV prevention in male dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether dogs undergoing splenectomy had an increased risk of gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV), compared with a control group of dogs undergoing enterotomy. DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study. ANIMALS: 219 dogs that underwent splenectomy for reasons other than splenic torsion (splenectomy group; n = 172) or enterotomy (control group; 47) without concurrent gastropexy. PROCEDURES: Medical records were reviewed for information on signalment, date of surgery, durations of surgery and anesthesia, reason for splenectomy, histopathologic findings (if applicable), whether gastropexy was performed, duration of follow-up, and date of death (if applicable). Follow-up information, including occurrence of GDV, was obtained via medical records review and a written client questionnaire. RESULTS: Reasons for splenectomy included splenic neoplasia, nonneoplastic masses, infarction, traumatic injury, and adhesions to a gossypiboma. Incidence of GDV following surgery was not significantly different between dogs of the splenectomy (14/172 [8.1 %]) and control (3/47 [6.4%]) groups. Median time to GDV for the 17 affected dogs was 352 days (range, 12 to 2,368 days) after surgery. Among dogs that underwent splenectomy, sexually intact males had a significantly higher incidence of GDV (4/16) than did castrated males and sexually intact or spayed females (10/156). Incidence of GDV among sexually intact male dogs did not differ between groups. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results did not support a recommendation for routine use of prophylactic gastropexy in dogs at the time of splenectomy. Other patient-specific risk factors should be assessed prior to recommending this procedure.
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Search related cases āOriginal publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22852571/