By Dr. Emma Bush
It’s a beautiful summer day. The sun is shining, the grass is freshly mowed, your kids are playing out with their toys on the lawn and you are out barbequing your favorite foods; ribs, burgers and corn on the cob.
This vision of summer paradise is also a vision for your dog – delicious tastes with severe consequences.
Dogs and cats will not infrequently ingest things that they shouldn’t. Whether this is food objects, toys, rocks or string; these items can have consequences ranging from stomach upset to foreign body obstructions. Prognosis can range from very good, all the way to life threatening; and treatments can range from something as simple as supportive care, up to involved emergency surgeries.
What’s the difference between a foreign body ingestion and obstruction?
A foreign body ingestion is when an animal consumes something that is not a food item. This can happen because the pet blatantly consumes an inappropriate item; or, in some cases the simple act of chewing on a toy or foreign item can escalate to swallowing and subsequent consumption. In some situations, these items can pass on their own, sometimes in a day or two. However, in some cases they can lodge in the stomach for up to several weeks!
A foreign body obstruction is when an item lodges inappropriately in the gastrointestinal system, causing a partial or complete blockage. Clinical signs of the blockage can include gastrointestinal upset (vomiting and diarrhea), lethargy, listlessness and pain. If this happens, the item will need to be removed appropriately and in a timely manner. This is because, the longer an item is present inappropriately in the gastrointestinal tract, the more damage can occur secondarily to the tract.
The worst for these is linear foreign bodies or consumption of string or a string-like object. This is because as the intestines enact peristalsis, the small muscle contractions that allow food to pass on through the gastrointestinal tract, a string like object will bunch (picture a draw-string bunching up in a pair of pants). This bunching or plication can get so severe that it can actually cut through the intestines! Other possible complications include cutting off circulation to parts of the intestines, causing compromise and devitalization of tissues. If the circulation is cut off for more than a few hours, tissues can become necrotic and die. This makes for an even more concerning medical emergency.
How do we diagnose these cases?
A common preliminary diagnostic is radiographs and/or abdominal ultrasound to get an image of what is going on internally and to see if there is any evidence of foreign material in the gastro-intestinal tract and/or evidence of obstruction. In some cases, your veterinarian may recommend a barium series: this is when a radio-opaque substance is fed to the pet and the x-rays are taken at set periods of time to monitor the passage of the substance. If it passes through uneventfully, we can more confidently rule out a foreign body obstruction. However, if it stops passing at one point or appears to get caught on something, more suspicion for an obstruction is present.
In some, more fortunate cases, the ingested foreign object will lodge in the stomach. In these cases, if available, a scope may be utilized to retrieve the object from the stomach without surgical intervention. However, more frequently, exploratory surgery will be performed. This procedure is called an “explore” because we do not know what we are going in to find. It is recommended if a foreign body obstruction is diagnosed or suspected.
This surgery involves incising into the abdominal cavity and carefully visualizing and palpating the entire gastrointestinal tract from stomach to colon to localize the suspected foreign object. Once the foreign object is localized, an incision is made into the affected part of the gastrointestinal tract and the offending object is removed. This makes it sound much simpler than it is in real life. Sometimes multiple incisions are needed to appropriately remove the foreign object; sometimes, if the bowel is devitalized, a portion of intestine needs to be removed. This is not a casual surgery and prognosis following surgery is based off of a combination of the location, duration and shape of the foreign body, as well as how healthy the animal was prior to the incident. Recovery following surgery often takes several days.
Why did I lead into this topic following painting a beautiful picture of a summer-time barbeque?
Well, corn-cobs are a common foreign body that are seen in canine patients in the summer as these do not break down or absorb in the stomach. Toys and rocks are other common offenders for dogs; as too are rib bones. An additional risk with rib bones is that their sharp edges can risk puncturing through the stomach and/or intestines. This creates a whole other level of risk of a septic abdomen and shock.
Our feline pets are less of culprits for foreign bodies at the barbeque; however they are more notorious for ingesting thread, rubber bands and small toys. As above, some of these may be able to pass, others may not.
If you ever have any concern that your pet has ingested something that they shouldn’t have please contact your veterinarian.
References Used:
- Linear Foreign Body in Dogs and Cats:
https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=6075371#:~:text=If%20the%20object%20does%20not,the%20bowel%20is%20badly%20damaged.
Ingestion of Foreign Bodies in Cats
https://vcacanada.com/know-your-pet/ingestion-of-foreign-bodies-in-cats