# Post-Intestinal Surgery



## schapiro (Dec 9, 2011)

Hi all,

My four year old chesapeake just had an intestinal blockage removed on Monday. On Saturday afternoon he was puking a bit and acting a little strange off and on, so I took him in. They did an x-ray but nothing alarming showed up, and at that point his mood and behaviour were still normal, so they gave him some fluids and an anti-vomiting medication and sent him home. About two hours after we'd gotten home Saturday night, things took a huge turn; he was extremely lethargic, mopey, a bit bloated, and couldn't get comfortable laying down. 
First thing Sunday morning, seeing as there was no improvement and he at this point was not interested in food or water (I've never seen him deny either before), we went straight back. No further vomiting, he did pass a tiny bit of a stool that was rock hard so we bagged it up and took it in with us. My dad then tells me that he had gotten into antifreeze a few days earlier. A FEW DAYS EARLIER, and I was JUST THEN being told about it. Bloodwork was done, a urinalysis, and another x-ray. The bloodwork and urinalysis came back perfectly fine, and the x-ray showed that he did have some strange gas patterns in his stomach and bowels, but nothing jumped out to immediately say something was wrong. We decided to leave him there overnight for monitoring and fluids.

On Monday morning a different vet came in and said there were no improvements; he was still lethargic, a little defensive about his stomach, drooling, and not interested in anything. He gave him barium and did another x-ray which showed that there was something in his stomach absorbing the barium. So he went in for an exploratory; a rag in the stomach, knotted with plastic, and more in the intestines. Basically, he had two bits of plastic taggled in a ragged cloth stuck in two different parts of his intestine, and were connected together by a strand of cloth; one part was in the lower part of the duedendom, and the other part was a bit past where the duodendom curves. He made three incisions technically; one to get the bulk of the rags out of the stomach, and two to get the lodged bits out. Everything else was clear.

The intestine looked _okay_ when they went in, but not up to par. He took the bits out, and as they were stitching him back up it started to look a little bad again (he explained this as a sort of reflex that happened, once the tension from the lodged plastic/rag was removed, the intestine, after trying so hard to move those lodged pieces through, sort of cramped up into itself, cutting off its own circulation). They flushed a lot of saline through it and massaged it back into place and it started to pink up again, but wasn't quite where the vet wanted it to be. At that point, based on his analysis, the intestine seemed to be okay and the lingering discolouration appeared to be from bruising rather than not getting circulation. So, they stitched him all up.

Monday night/Tuesday morning he appeared to be recovering okay. His vitals remained good the entire time. By Tuesday evening he was drinking water and had taken about a tablespoon of dog food. The next morning (Wednesday) around 3am he did puke up some water and had lost his appetite for a bit. The vet gave him a little bit of barium and did another x-ray to check of any leaks, and that came back clear. By the afternoon his appetite was back, and they were giving him water and a tablespoon of food every few hours, which he was eagerly taking. 

Thursday morning, everything looked good. His vitals have remained perfect the entire time (since Sunday when we'd brought him in); heart rate was where it should be, no arrhythmia, and his temperature was pefectly fine. Thursday morning they gave him half a can of food (hill's i/d) which he readily ate and was keeping down. His mood was significantly better, more alert, bright, and all things were looking okay. They fed him the second half of the can and that was staying down as well.

So Thusday (yesterday) evening he came home with a slew of medicines (cephalexin, albon, flagyl, and carafate) and cans of i/d. He was so excited and happy to be home. Mellowed out after a while, tired, a little mopey, but tail wagging and ears perky. Just letting him rest. He gets about 2/3 a cup of water every four hours, and half a can of food twice a day for now because the vet doesn't want to overdo anything.

So now it's Friday afternoon. We've had no vomiting, which is excellent. But, we've had no stool passing either! He hasn't passed a stool since Sunday morning! The techs said that when they would temp him, there would be stool on the thermometer, and we know that the barium is in his colon based on the xray he had after surgery. He's quiet today. Was very excited about his food and water earlier, and excited when Jake (our other dog) came downstairs this morning after waking up, but seems a bit mopey overall. Lots of sleeping.

The vet told us that if he doesn't pass a stool by tomorrow afternoon, to call and bring him in. I called today to update him and see what he thought, but he won't be back in until Monday (so the receptionist left a note for me and I said I'd call and talk to whichever vet is there if anything changes or if I'm still concerned later.)

Problem is, I can't tell whether I'm being overly-concerned or what. His mood isn't 100% and that worries me but at the same time I know he's been through a lot in the last week and it's probably going to take some time until he's up to par (but I can't help it!) I just want him to take a dump! I take him out whenever he asks to go (which has been about...twice since 8am), and we walk around for about five minutes. He pees fine, but no stool passing yet. 


I guess I'm just looking for words of advice or reassurance or caution at this point. Will most likely call the vets office again later to get an opinion. I feel like I'm being neurotic but I can't help it. He's been so extremely lucky at this point, between the antifreeze (don't even get me started on how horrified I am about that and the fact that my dad didn't do anything about it / didn't even tell me for three days!) not doing anything, and not having to have a critical part of his bowels removed, we're so close to him being better, and yet so far.

Thanks for...well..anything!


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## schapiro (Dec 9, 2011)

So right after I typed all of that out, I decided to take him on a short walk down the street. Definitely not his usual spunky self....quite mopey today, but he passed a bit of stool! Just a small, solid, normal-looking stool about the size of a golf ball. Progress I hope.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

It's not unusual for it to take several days after that kind of scenario for a dog to pass stool. It takes time for everything to get re-coordinated and moving in the right direction again. I hope your dog feels back to his normal self soon.


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## schapiro (Dec 9, 2011)

Thanks sassafras. I ended up taking him in after my nerves got the best of me. His vet wasn't there today, but the vet that was took his temp and checked him out and said everything appears to be ok, he's probably still sore and reassured me that even though the stool he passed earlier was small, it was still passed stool and is a positive sign. He's quiet tonight but still taking his water and food eagerly, so we'll keep going on this path and keep a close eye on him.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

If you are allowed to walk him, exercise is very good for getting him regular, again. The good news is that when he heals in a couple of weeks, he should be 100%, because intestines heal quickly... and so do dogs.

And, you are always right to be concerned when your dog changes mood and especially when he doesn't eat.


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## schapiro (Dec 9, 2011)

Thanks Hanksimon. He's been doing better every day! It's such a relief. He hasn't vomited nor had runs, and has remained excited about eating and drinking water, and had passed stool not once, but twice yesterday! Of good size too. Still quite mopey and tired, but we're seeing more and more short bursts of normal Bróganness from him; antagonizing our other dog, playing with his kong, general excitement over little things every once in a while. Called the vet today and gave him an update and he was thrilled with the progress. I also asked about exercising, and he said that taking him on walks around our block (which is about 1/2 a mile) would be okay now as we're a week out of surgery. What a jarring and terrifying experience this has been, and he's been so lucky! The part of his intestine that the cloth (which I realized was my mom's kevlar cutting glove from work, which was soaked in grease and such from cooking chicken, thus why he ate it) was the duodenum, and he's so lucky he got to keep it and didn't have to have any parts of him removed or reconstructed. 

One day at a time here, but things are looking quite good.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

I imagine that you'll have some 'behavioral' problems as he starts to feel energetic and wants to go zooming around, before he is fully healed from the surgery. Even though he may not be in pain, it still takes lots of energy to heal the intestines and the muscles, so he may be energetic for half day for 2 - 4 weeks, depending on the extent of the surgery. The Vet will know. Glad he's better. 
(Don't give him chicken schmultz!!


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