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Stomach tacking

5K views 20 replies 11 participants last post by  BPB 
#1 ·
Has anyone had a stomach tacking procedure done on their Doberman?
 
#2 ·
I haven't had it done on my Doberman, but I did have it done on my Dane last year when he was neutered. He is an anxious dog with stomach problems so I considered him high risk for bloat. I've never had any of my previous Danes or Dobermans preventative tacked, but one of my previous Danes did bloat and he was tacked as part of his bloat surgery. Both of my dogs recovered well.

My current female Doberman's line doesn't have a history of bloat and she is neither anxious nor has stomach problems. I don't know if I will tack her if/when she is spayed. Right now I am leaning towards no, but I also live very close to several emergency pet clinics so I know that I could get timely treatment if she started to bloat. If this wasn't the case, I would probably tack.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Kip had it done during his first bloat with stomach torsion surgery. Since he continued to bloat a number of times more, I was glad I had it done--because just bloating without torsion is not nearly so dangerous. His bloating appears to be related to his severe allergies--so maybe those two things go along with each other??

By the way, Kip’s bloat was about at 2AM, so we could easily have missed the first symptoms--and then it can be too late. The beginnings of a bloat can be very subtle--Kip never got the the hard swollen stomach before we took him in--he just acted...bloaty. Fortunately, our emergency vet is only about 5 minutes away...but those sure are long minutes when you’re rushing a dog in.

Capri I had done when she was spayed, because when they spay a female they are already in the body cavity, and I had Kip as an example of what bloat could be like.

Not sure if I had another male dobe whether I would tack him or not. Definitely if he bloated, I would have it done if he needed surgery then, or done later as a precaution against another bloat + torsion.

I think it is speculated that there is a genetic predisposition to bloat.
 
#6 ·
Yes, my first female had a gastropexy done when she was spayed. Richter had a gastropexy when he was neutered, because he had a retained testicle so his neuter required abdominal surgery. I will be having Sypha's stomach tacked when she is eventually spayed. I personally think it is very worthwhile; the extra time it buys you if your dog does bloat can be lifesaving. I have a very good friend who is a critical care (ER) vet, as well as a few other good friends who are veterinarians, and all recommend it for Dobermans.
 
#8 ·
I was considering this when Dax was getting spay however after speaking with her breeder she confirmed that she never had any bloat issues in her line. She also confirmed that this was also true for the sire's line. So I decided not to have this done. I would speak to your breeder and also consult with your vet.
 
#9 ·
If I kept bitches (I don't--owned my first and last bitch in the early 60's) I would probably have a tack done when the bitch was spayed.

I've never had a male tacked--but IF I ever had one who bloated with or without torsion (I've never had a Dobe bloat) or had to be opened for removal of a foreign object I would consider a tack on a dog who had a close direct or close lateral relative who had bloated

But I don't thnk I'd consider it as preventative surgery for a male--and in the unlikely event of ever having another bitch--I'd have to think long and hard before I made the decision to tack "just because" when I had her spayed.
 
#11 ·
I've had it done twice during spays. The first one was fine, but the second one ended with a nasty infection. I have not done it since. Even done during a spay, it is major additional surgery requiring a large incision. I will always consider it when doing a spay, but would never consider doing it just as a preventative without it being part of another surgery.
 
#12 ·
Thanks for asking this BPB! I didn't even know this procedure was done! I lost a female dobe many years ago to bloat. Vet thought she was too old for surgery (12yrs) and it happened overnight, so it was really bad by the time I got her to the vet. She ended up being euthanized. Very sad day...

After losing a dog to bloat, it certainly makes me paranoid that it could happen again. I would likely do the stomach tacking if I was having a dog spayed. I've also had a male neutered with a "missing testicle" just like MeadowCat, and I know what a huge incision that ends up being!

In my opinion, if the dog is already having surgery, and this procedure can prevent a life threatening situation, why not get it done?

Just my $.02
 
#14 ·
How did everyone's dogs recover after the Gastropexy? I know the surgeon will give me instructions on how long to keep her activity restricted, but I would like to hear from you guys too :) How much aftercare am I looking at?
Laparoscopic spay with Gastropexy.
 
#15 ·
My dogs have all recovered well. My vet was very specific on recovery instructions. In particular, we were to be careful about restricting stretching upward (things like jumping up) longer, even after slowly returning to activity, as that kind of long stretching is where the recovery area is. Having had abdominal surgery myself recently (ruptured appendix) I can say that even a couple of months after my surgery I could still feel a twinge inside sometimes if I stretched really high to reach something, so I really understand now the extra restrictions there that my vet cautioned us about. We did our best to keep ours as quiet as possible to help healing.
 
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#16 ·
Finn stayed at the vet for a couple days after his gastropexy and neuter and I worked from home a couple day when he came home. Recovery was very easy for us. Finn settles at home very well and didn't bother his stitches, he didn't need to wear a cone or anything. We had to take precautions with activity and feeding. He had smaller, more frequent meals, and our vet asked us to wet the food down so it expanded before he ate it.
 
#17 ·
What MeadowCat said. Our house is a split level, and the deck has about 10 or 12 steps so to take Mocha out to potty, I carefully picked her up and carried her down and then back up the stairs the first few days (my back thanked me, LOL). After about a week, I conferred with our vet and she said that Mocha could start going up and down stairs, as long as it was slow. So I put a collar and leash on Mocha to go potty and taught her "slow" so she would take her time going up and down the stairs.
 
#18 ·
I do not have any stairs at my home and always go out with the dogs for potty breaks, so I know I will be good with that! I also took off work for 4 days so that I am home and keeping a close eye on her. She is scheduled to get her surgery this Friday. She usually has noseowrk classes on Monday and obedience on Wednesday. We will obviously be missing next weeks classes. Hopefully she will feel well enough to go to class the following week? If not, no biggie! I know dogs are usually supposed to be able to go back to normal activity within a few days of a laparoscopic spay, but since she is getting her stomach tacked as well, I know this will be a longer recovery for her.
 
#19 ·
I've had laparoscopic gastropexy done on a few. Having lost a dog to bloat (older dog who had a heart issue and therefore was not a good surgical candidate), I can say I will continue to have this surgery performed as a prophylactic.

With lapro pexy, my dogs usually stay overnight for veterinary observation following the surgery. They come home the next day acting like nothing even happened. I have a harder time keeping them calm and rested than anything else.
 
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#20 ·
I hope Riley comes home acting like nothing even happened too! I can imagine keeping her calm will be a struggle.. but I will have some housework activities that we can work on. Hopefully that will be enough! I will have to stock up on bully sticks too (assuming this is safe a couple days after surgery).
 
#21 · (Edited)
Riley had her laparoscopic spay with gastropexy yesterday. She is resting comfortably at home. She was a bit loopy when I picked her up last night, but woke up this morning as her usual self. I spent a lot more money having her spay done via laparoscope, but I wanted as little pain as possible and also wanted the gastropexy done. We drove an hour north to see a specialist and they were absolutely amazing with her.

About a month ago we learned that Riley has hypothyroidism. Her liver values were a bit off prior to being on the meds when we first found out.. After being on her thyroid meds, her liver values have leveled out (for the most part). The specialist I saw yesterday said that if her liver looked abnormal during the surgery, that he would like to take a biopsy. I agreed. He called me after the surgery and said that he can't say that it looked "abnormal" but it didn't look 100% normal :(, so we are waiting on biopsy results. I am trying my best not to worry. Here is a pic of my girl resting at home after her surgery.

 
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