Clinical results and complications of preventive laparoscopic assisted gastropexy in 17 dogs: preliminary study

Abstract

In terms of GDV prevention, a number of non-surgical measures are recommended. However, the only truly reliable method is gastropexy, most often as part of a surgical treatment of GDV. Gastropexy may be performed preventively either during laparotomy indicated for another reason than GDV, or newly laparoscopically, as independent preventive gastropexy. Preventive laparoscopic assisted gastropexy (PLAG) was performed in 17 patients at the Department of Surgery and Orthopaedics of the Small Animal Clinic at the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Brno. Clinical results and complications of PLAG were evaluated 3-12 months after surgery. The most frequent clinical finding of PLAG was a skinfold at the site of gastropexy immediately after the surgery (n = 8; 47%), or still on day 12 after the surgery (n = 1; 6%). As for PLAG complications, in one case a seroma formation was found at the site of gastropexy (6%); in two patients iatrogenic perforation of the splenic capsule (12%) occurred, which in one case gave reason to converting laparoscopy into laparotomy (6%). In none of the patients, death, gastropexy failure, GDV development, dehiscence, infection of or haemorrhage from the surgical wound were noted. Laparoscopic assisted gastropexy appears as a reliable and miniinvasive surgical method of GDV prevention and it may be recommended for high-risk breeds of dogs.