Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Constipation surgery removes large intestine in Vietnamese
By Bassett, J R et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·1999·Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Subtotal colectomy and ileocolonic anastomosis in a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig with idiopathic megacolon.
- Species:
- pig
Plain-English summary
A 7-month-old female Vietnamese pot-bellied pig was brought in for severe constipation. The vet found a hard mass in her abdomen and X-rays showed her intestines were swollen and blocked. During surgery, the vet removed a large part of her colon and connected the remaining sections. Although she had some diarrhea initially, she eventually started to defecate normally after the surgery. This case shows that surgery can effectively treat severe constipation caused by megacolon in pot-bellied pigs.
People also search for: pig constipation treatment · pot-bellied pig surgery · megacolon in pigs · pig diarrhea after surgery
Abstract
A 7-month-old sexually intact female Vietnamese pot-bellied pig was evaluated because of constipation. On abdominal palpation, a hard tubular structure was palpated in the middle of the abdomen. Abdominal radiography revealed loops of intestine that were markedly distended with ingesta, consistent with obstructive intestinal disease. On exploratory celiotomy, a massively distended cecum and spiral colon were found. A subtotal colectomy, with a side-to-side ileocolonic anastomosis, was performed. The cause of the megacolon was not discovered. The pig did well following surgery and eventually defecated normally following an initial period of diarrhea. To our knowledge, this is the first report of therapeutic removal of a substantial portion of the large intestine in swine. Our decisions concerning the pig of this report were based largely on our knowledge of megacolon in cats. The outcome for this pig indicates that subtotal colectomy along with removal of the cecum and ileocecal valve can be used to successfully treat idiopathic megacolon in Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14567427/