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Can a dog's twisted stomach (GDV) be fixed without surgery?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Labrador Retriever | 11 years and 10 months old

Hello, my dog (female 12 year old Labrador) was diagnosed with GDV late in the early hours of Saturday morning. Rushed her to the vet at 4am and long story short, paid a massive bill for them having to turn her stomach back, however the dog wasn’t cut anywhere (I.e doesn’t appear that she had surgery). Is surgery necessary to turn the stomach around or not? I think she was perhaps just very bloated and that the stomach didn’t necessarily turn? Any info would be awesome thanks. Please see x-ray

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Destini R. Holloway, DVM

Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on December 9th, 2018

For some reason the x-ray did not post to your question. Bloat with volvulus (turning of the stomach) causes massive vomiting, decreased appetite, lack of proper stool, and also shows up pretty clearly on an x-ray, so please try to repost this to verify.
In some cases the pets stomach can be untwisted without surgery. However, I would still consider having the surgery to tack her stomach in the near future to prevent her stomach from twisting again.
We look forward to hearing back from you soon! Take care.
Vote Icon1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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