Centreville Animal Hospital Newsletter
www.centrevilleanimalhosp.com

Vol. 7 Number 10   Continued...

Like the balloons twisted to make rabbits and hats at the county fair, the stomach is a bag getting larger and with more pressure in only minutes of time. The size becomes larger quickly with the gas, food, and whatever else is there that produces, at the body's core temperature, more gas. The pressure exceeds blood pressure and effectively stops all blood coming back from the hind legs to the heart and lungs. The pressure does not overcome the aorta's pressure pushing more blood into the hind legs. The lack of blood for the brain, lungs and heart is remarkable. Death can occur within 30 minutes. Signs if we are lucky enough to be present are distension of the abdomen, difficulty in swallowing, vomiting, distress in breathing and standing, and shock. If we are not present many of our pets don't live though this internal trauma and lack of blood.

Prevention is haphazard. Each owner of large breeds of dogs who has been unfortunate enough to see and witness this has their own opinions and management practices that they feel help. They have strong opinions about certain foods both good and bad for prevention; they have strong ideas of how to feed the large, deep chested breeds (elevated feed containers, small quantities of food frequently, wet food, dry foods, none of this ingredient or that, etc.); and overall, my profession has no definitive fool proof means of total prevention. Surgery to tack the stomach into a fixed position is done on many large dogs as a prevention technique. Almost all management techniques have witnessed bloat with torsion, or volvulus, of the stomach. As soon as we feel comfortable with one management approach, we get bitten by fate and another dog suffers from this disease.

I believe the few things that are most helpful is: recognize your dog might be prone to this condition; act daily as if this could happen and observe closely your dog's habits; act if you sense the stomach is bigger than you normally recognize it; be prepared act quickly to dispel the gas at the veterinarian's office or emergency clinic; and think about this disease and how it could affect you and your dog before it happens.

I lost a wonderful English Setter years ago after she bloated for the third time. I was able to save her the first two times. Her stomach was tacked in two different areas and she still bloated with torsion a third time after getting excited and barking at deer running in our backyard. I was not present at the third occurrence and death took her too soon from my family.

Veterinarians Expect Consumer Interest In Stem Cell Injections, Warn That It Is Not A Miracle Cure

US Stem cell therapy, a relatively new treatment option for people and pets, has been shown to rejuvenate dogs with osteoarthritis-related ailments in clinical studies pending publication. 
   

Although benefits cannot be seen on X-rays, at least 50 clients have paid approximately $2,500 for the therapy, which recently became available, after hearing that it improves a pet's quality of life. Used to alleviate pain and potentially regenerate tissue, stem cell injections are getting positive reviews from veterinary specialists who participated in knee, elbow, and hip trials.
   

“As a pain management specialist, I am always looking for another viable tool for my toolbox,” said James Gaynor, DVM , MS , DACVA . “This has been great for us.” In his experience, the treatment has an 80+ percent chance for improvement in a pet's condition.
   

Gaynor is one of about 80 veterinary specialists in North America who participated in trials and recently started offering the procedure to clients. A total of 150 client-owned dogs have received treatment through the studies and about 50 paid for the procedure, which uses stem cells extracted from a pet's fat to replenish tissue damaged by osteoarthritis. 
  

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