Gastropexy / Stapling / Tacking

[Neidermeyer]

I have been doing some research on the issue, and am curious to see if anyone here has had this done. We will be having our EM spayed and the vet said they would do the procedure at the same time, so it would not be a separate operation. Any thoughts on the matter?

 

[Smart_Family]

I haven't decided yet if I want to have it done. If we do it will be during Azlin's spay but the reason I'm not sure is that she can still bloat even with the gastropexy but her stomach doesn't flip. I probably should decide though since she'll be getting done in March most likely.

 

[Neidermeyer]

I asked a friend of mine who is in his last year of Vet school at Auburn, and he indicated that it would be a good choice, given that she will already be under for spaying. The vet said the fees for the Gastropexy wouldn't be any more than the Spaying, so overall I think it would be $300 or less for both, which seems to be pretty reasonable.

 

[Smart_Family]

I'm leaning towards it but I have to find out if our new vet does it. Some vets do and some don't. Being that it's just him and a country vet I'm not sure if he does or not.

 

[Neidermeyer]

Yeah, I think I will probably have it done, but I wanted to see if anyone had just had a bad experience with it.

 

[jreach72]

I have been talking to my vet and a friend of mine who is a vet about this procedure and one of them shared this video which was very helpful to me. If your squeamish do not watch as it is a video of the procedure done by one of the top vet surgeons Dr. Ron Bright. [video=youtube;ZaSo0pmPsFY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaSo0pmPsFY[/video]

 

[jersey girl]

I am having this done when I spay Crickett. I have talked to my vet in great detail about this procedure. Crickett has a deep chest and if I can prevent her stomach from flipping I will. No, it doesn't prevent the actual bloat, but it prevents the stomach from flipping, and that is what ultimatly kills them. My vet went to Penn and has lots of experience doing this surgery. It's cheaper to have it done during the spay since she is already under. I believe the price for the gastropexy for her weight at 83lbs is about $280.

 

[Smart_Family]

I talked to our vet about it. We will most likely do it. He charges $200/hour for soft tissue surgery and said it would take half an hour so the total for her spay would be less than $300.

 

[broccolini]

We had our GSD done while she was having surgery to remove some rocks from her stomach. She didn't have any problems with it.

 

[MJT]

Kinda new to all this, I have a 1 yr old EM male and have never heard of gastropexy/stapling/tacking. Does it stomache flipping happen often? or bloating? are there ways to prevent it? I have Sir's food and water on chairs.

 

[WalnutCrest]

Don't spay your girls until they are AT LEAST a year old ... don't neuter your boys until they are AT LEAST 18mo old.

 

[bradycone]

I am in the same boat as MJT; I have never heard of this. Could someone explain what is is and why you do it? Thanks!

 

[Smokeycat]

Gastropexy is when the stomach is attached to the abdominal wall. It is done in an attempt to prevent the stomach from flipping over (torsion) in the event that the dog bloats. From what I've read and understand, might not be completely accurate, bloat is actually the accumulation of gasses in the stomach while torsion is when the digestive tract flips over on itself closing off access to the stomach thereby preventing any chance of the gas escaping. If the stomach hasn't flipped non surgical methods may work to save the dogs life while a torsion case has become emergency surgery.

 

[bradycone]

Thanks for the info!

 

[angelathurston]

ok here is the question to your statement My vet recently dicussed to gastropexy with me for my female Cane Corso. Of course I never take anything at face value that I feel like is a sales pitch. I have heard of the torsion in giant breeds but I consider it a sales pitch when she is 4 months old. Of course everyone is pushing spaying which I have no problems with, What I do have a problems with is her age, especially for a giant breed. In my pusuit of knowledge I ran across an article that seemed to make perfect sense. Im open to facts from anyone. Here is what the article said in a small version. Giant breed growth plates stay open until almost a year of age, when you spay before a year it cause bones to grown longer than they should and not have the normal hormonal developement of bones and muscle. Giant breed grow for up to 3yrs. How can you tack her at 4mos if she is going to grow for another 8 months. It doesnt seem right in both the hormonal way or size.

 

[Smart_Family]

Most vets recommend the tacking during spay. It's advised to wait til at least 18 months to spay a female mastiff.