Endoscopic removal of foreign body in upper gastrointestinal tract in dogs: success rate and complications

ABSTRACT

Background: Dogs and cats with acute signs of choking, retching, cough, vomiting, regurgitation, hypersalivation, dysphagiaand odynophagia should have the presence of a gastrointestinal foreign body (FB) as part of their differential diagnosis,where it is a frequent condition in the care of small animals. Most objects lodged in the esophagus, stomach, and proximalduodenum can be removed by upper digestive endoscopy, a curative, little invasive procedure. The objective of our studywas to evaluate the physical aspects and location of esophageal and gastric FBs observed in 88 dogs and the age and breedof the affected animals, and to determine the success rate and eventual complications associated with the procedure as well.Materials, Methods & Results: Eighty-eight cases of dogs, males and females of varying ages and breeds, submitted toupper digestive endoscopy were selected because of suspicion of esophageal or gastric FBs. The endoscopic procedureaimed at confirming the diagnosis, whether or not followed by endoscopic removal of these objects. Prior to endoscopy,the animals had laboratory tests (blood count and serum biochemistry) and subsequently to the anesthetic protocols ofchoice for each case. Data including breed, age, type of constituent material and anatomical location of the FB, endoscopicprocedure success rate and complications were recorded and descriptively evaluated. Of the 88 dogs evaluated, 60% (n= 53) were male and 40% (n = 35) female. According to the breed of the animals, 55% (n = 49) were small-breed dogs,29% (n = 25) large-breed dogs, and 8% (n = 7) medium-breed dogs, and 8% were of mixed breed dogs, which could assume various sizes. Shih tzus accounted for 18% (n = 16) of the animals...