Bloat update

We had an unfortunate case last week of a shepherd-mix who was discovered at home after having died from "bloat". This is a condition, almost exclusively of large breed dogs, where the stomach twists around on itself, for no clearly understood reason, and becomes progressively more distended with gas. Once sufficient gas has accumulated in the stomach it can no longer untwist, and without emergency surgery at that point the stomach continues to distend with more trapped gas and the situation is invariably fatal. The only proven way to prevent this problem is with a relatively minor surgical procedure called a Gastropexy, where the stomach is fixed in place so it cannot rotate. For the past 7 years we have been performing this procedure laparoscopically. Dogs can have this procedure performed on an outpatient basis. You can read a more complete discussion of this condition here:     http://webvets.com/PDF/Canine%20Bloat.pdf