Bobby bites off more than he could chew!

Bobby is a 2 and a half year old Beagle cross who was bought to the Reservoir Veterinary Clinic because he was vomiting and he was lethargic and very depressed at home. Dr Andrea examined Bobby and found that his gums were dry and that he had a painful abdomen. He was admitted to the hospital ward for intravenous fluids and a blood test. As Bobby's gums were dry it was suspected that he was dehydrated so the intravenous fluid would help to rehydrate him.

Bobby's blood results returned as normal so Dr Andrea decided that a radiograph was needed to assess if Bobby had a foreign body in his stomach or intestines. Radiographs cannot always illustrate if there is a foreign body in the intestines without having a contrast such as barium but sometimes they can indicate that there is a foreign body without barium by showing gas loops in the intestines or a narrowing of the intestines. The radiograph did not rule out a foreign body but Bobby had begun to eat in hospital and his vomiting had ceased so the conservative approach was taken so Bobby was discharged for observation at home.

Unfortunately Bobby began to vomit at home a few days later so he was readmitted to hospital for contrast or barium radiographs. This involved feeding Bobby some barium which is radiolucent and therefore shows up clearly on radiographs. Several radiographs are taken over the course of several hours to watch how the barium moves through Bobby's gastrointestinal tract. If there was an obstruction or foreign body that barium will illustrate this.

The radiographs demonstrated that the barium passed into Bobby's small intestines and then abruptly stopped and would not pass any further. It was therefore suspected that Bobby had an obstruction so the only course of treatment was to perform surgery and remove the obstruction. Dr Andrea and Dr Raj performed the surgery and Nurse Sommer monitored Bobby's anaesthetic.

Bobby was already on an intravenous fluid drip as he had still been vomiting so this remained in place while he was in surgery and in recovery. The intravenous fluid assists in maintaining his blood pressure while he was anaesthetised. Nurse Sommer monitored Bobby's vital signs which included his heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure as well as maintaining his anaesthetic depth. Bobby's surgery went really well. Dr Andrea was able to remove the offending culprit which was a peach pip from his small intestine.

Bobby recovered well from his surgery and Dr Andrea ensured that he remained pain free by administering pain relief for him. Bobby remained in hospital for 2 days after his surgery to ensure he was eating properly. He was a cheeky man as he would sometimes eat for certain staff members and then not for others. He then decided that he didn't want to eat dog food so we cooked chicken for him to eat. Through out his ordeal Bobby was such a lovely patient. He was very brave and loved nothing more than having one of the nurses sitting in his cage giving him lots of cuddles and ear rubs.

Bobby came back to the clinic a few days after his discharge to see Dr Raj for a recheck. He was doing really well at home and he was back to his normal happy self. He was back to eating well which was a relief to his owners and all at the clinic.