![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/GDV-Bella-herself-2000x1445.jpg\")
<\/p>\nTwo dog owners recently asked me to do a preventive surgery on their dogs.<\/p>\n
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Their dogs, both German shepherds, are at risk for a deadly condition called \u201cbloat.\u201d This is a situation where the stomach becomes hugely distended with gas, and can in some cases twist onto itself.<\/p>\n
The procedure is called a prophylactic gastropexy. The smartest time to do it is at the time of spaying or neutering, since the dog is already under anesthesia.<\/p>\n
\u201cProphylactic\u201d means that it\u2019s a preventive surgery performed before this \u201cbloat\u201d condition actually occurs.<\/p>\n
\u201cGastropexy\u201d means that the stomach is tacked or stitched to the inside of the belly. This procedure prevents the twisting of the stomach.<\/p>\n
It is a potentially life-saving procedure that should be considered in Great Danes (the #1 breed for this disease), German shepherds, Labs and several other large dog breeds.<\/p>\n
And so Bella, a 6 month old German shepherd, had her gastropexy at the time of her spay.<\/p>\n
And Zeke, a 1 year old German shepherd, had his gastropexy at the time of his neuter. Here is a picture of the completed surgery.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/GDV-Zeke-gastropexy-1-2000x1628.jpg\")
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Now, it\u2019s very important to understand that the gastropexy only prevents twisting of the stomach. It does NOT prevent actual bloat, where the stomach gets hugely distended with gas. This could still happen in the future. In that case, a vet would have to pass a tube down the throat to remove the gas out of the stomach. The dog would then need to be \u201cstabilized\u201d with IV fluids etc. But there should be no emergency surgery to untwist the stomach. Here is an X-ray of a twisted stomach to show you what I mean by \u201cthe stomach becomes hugely distended with gas.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/GDV-rad-2000x1399.jpg\")
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If your dog is at risk for \u201cbloat\u201d, please consider having him or her \u201cgastropexied.\u201d It can save their life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two dog owners recently asked me to do a preventive surgery on their dogs. Their dogs, both German shepherds, are at risk for a deadly condition called \u201cbloat.\u201d This is a situation where the stomach becomes hugely distended with gas, and can in some cases twist onto itself. The procedure is called a prophylactic gastropexy. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[158,159,160,157,161,156],"class_list":["post-1058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bloat","tag-gastropexy","tag-german-shepherds","tag-phil-zeltzman","tag-prophylactic","tag-veterinary-surgeon"],"yoast_head":"\n