Abdominal / Foreign Body Removals

Gastrointestinal (GI) foreign bodies occur when pets consume items that are non-digestible and will not readily pass through their stomach or intestines. These items may be toys, leashes, clothing, sticks, or any other item that fails to pass, including human food products such as bones or trash. When these items become lodged in the GI tract, they can cause the animal to become very sick. The problems that are caused vary with:

• how long the foreign body has been present.
• the location of the foreign body.
• how badly the foreign material closes off the opening of the GI tract.
• what the material is made of. Some ingested items, such as older pennies or lead material, can cause systemic toxicities while others may cause regional damage to the intestinal tract itself due to compression or obstruction.

Gastrointestinal foreign bodies, especially strings, can sometimes cause holes in the tissue (or perforation). This causes spillage of intestinal contents into the abdomen. This condition quickly leads to life-threatening inflammation of the abdominal lining (peritonitis) and allows bacterial proliferation and contamination (sepsis). While some small foreign bodies will pass, many will become lodged along the gastrointestinal tract and cause discomfort and make your pet sick.

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