My dog is vomiting, X-ray shows issues. Is surgery really needed?

I recommend doing a GI contrast series of X-rays first. That will show if there is a blockage from her eating something that is stuck in the intestines. The ultrasound for this is not as helpful in my opinion and shouldn’t be necessary unless there is no blockage and they want to check her abdomen and other organs. This is a serious problem so please get the contrast study done soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your dog.

It seems there is something in the stomach indeed but it is not likely to cause an obstruction, it could be the cause of the symptoms though but an ultrasound is indeed necessary to confirm it. another option is to repeat the xray with contrast media in order to get a better idea regarding what could be in the stomach.

Acute pancreatitis and gastrointestinal inflammation/infections are still possible as well as foreign body ingestion with material not visible on X rays (ultrasound in these cases might be more sensitive). Given the lack of improvement, I would suggest to have her checked again and have a test for pancreatitis (it is a blood test called cPLI) performed. If not eating and probably in a sort of abdominal discomfort, nutritional support and pain relief meds are needed.

Especially in the case of objects that are not metal or bone, which show up quite obviously on x-ray, it can be difficult to distinguish foreign objects in the stomach on x-rays, and sometimes when the results of the x-rays are equivocal we have to make the decision to go to surgery to find out for sure whether there is a blockage. Sometimes it is helpful to put a contrast agent into the GI tract, such as barium or even air, as they can aid in making the diagnosis. However, sometimes even board-certified surgeons and board-certified radiologists are not certain whether there is something foreign in the stomach, and even they make mistakes. Or sometimes we will go in to the abdomen, open the stomach, and indeed find something foreign, only to find out that it is something (like paper) that would have likely passed normally. It can be a very tough call and unfortunately sometimes we don't get a definitive answer until we go in and look.

Hello, sorry to hear about Lucky. It’s very difficult to tell If she have a hole in her stomach. Options include doing an endoscopy or surgery. However, an abdominal X-ray could indicate if there is evidence of free gas in the abdominal cavity which would be most consistent with a perforarion. If lucky continues to do unwell, then she should be evaluated by her veterinarian again to make sure she does not have a perforartion. Hope this helps and best of luck

Hi, sorry to hear your dog is having this problem. I would recommend an ultrasound to make sure he does not have Inflammatory bowel disorder or a foreign body that does not show up on x ray. Some foreign objects can migrate throughout the GI tract so they can sometimes cause problems and sometimes be fine. An infection would not cause this problem. The anti vomiting injection only lasts 24 hours so if he did not vomit on that, you can try oral tablet of it. But if he did vomit through the injection, it is more likely he has a foreign body. If your vet cannot do an abdominal ultrasound, I would go to a specialist who has an ultrasound and is good at them to find out what is wrong Good luck, I hope this helps!

That sounds like a tough situation. Depending on the current physical exam, repeat or additional blood work and x-rays may be needed. If those tests come back normal again, then surgery may be needed to explore the intestines and take biopsies.