What is a gastropexy and how it can save your dog’s life

Have you ever heard of a dog bloating ? If not, let me explain to you here in short what it is. Bloating in dogs means that their stomach is getting extended way beyond it’s normal size and possibly twisting meaning the entire stomach flipped like a wild carnival ride. Once the stomach is flipped, it is an immediate medical emergency because the stomach is not able to return into its normal position on its own and the blood supply to the stomach and spleen is interrupted which can lead to the tissue dying. If you are suspecting that your dog is bloating, please rush your dog to the nearest vet. The stomach can only get untwisted by surgery, hence the sooner the dog gets seen by a vet the better the dog’s chances of survival. A dog can blot because it ate too much food too quickly, ran around after eating a big meal, ingested too much air while eating or just because today is Thursday, it’s a very unpredictable occurrence.
Now about what is a gastropexy and how it can save your dog’s life: a gastropexy is a surgical procedure where the dog’s outer stomach wall gets sutured to the inside of the abdominal wall, it’s also called a stomach tack. This will prevent the stomach from twisting and keeps it in its natural position. It’s a great way to prevent bloating which onset can be difficult to determine and can only be diagnosed by radiographs or ultra sound. Certain dog breeds are more susceptible to bloating than others, these often described as “barrel chested” dogs like German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, Boxers, Rottweilers, Great Danes and so on. If you are the owner of such a “barrel chested” dog breed and your dog is very active and a fast eater, it is highly recommended that you get your dog a gastroppexy. It is well worth the money because the surgery and recovery of correcting a bloat can quickly be a high end 4 figure (maybe even 5 figure) vet bill. When getting a female dog spayed, it is pretty easy to add this procedure to the surgery since the vet has to open the abdominal wall anyway. For male dogs, this would be an additional incision/surgery.
A little story from the home front:
Not too long ago, one of my dogs bloated after having his dinner. He was fed in his crate and when I let him out 2 hours later for a potty break, I noticed that something was “off” with him. I quickly suspected bloat and rushed him to an emergency vet where radiographs confirmed the diagnosis of bloat. He immediately received emergency surgery which saved his life. In addition to that the vet also performed a gastropexy to prevent any future bloating. My dog is back to his normal activities and happy as clam.