Abdominal exploratory is a procedure may save your pet's life if a critical problem such as an intestinal foreign body is present.
Abdominal exploratory is also used as a diagnostic tool to obtain samples (biopsy specimens) from internal organs; your pet's condition will be able to be treated more specifically if a diagnosis is made.
Dogs and cats recover quickly from abdominal exploratory surgery.
What is it?
Abdominal exploratory is a surgery in which the abdomen (belly) is opened and explored (examined) for diseases. Sometimes a definitive diagnosis has been made prior to the surgery such as a foreign object lodged in the intestines (foreign body); in other cases a definitive diagnosis is not established and biopsies of the internal organs is necessary in order to institute specific treatment.
Pertinent Anatomy
All internal organs are examined during the exploratory for disease
liver
gall bladder
stomach
spleen
kidneys
bladder
intestines
lymph nodes
pancreas
adrenal glands
Clinical Signs to Warrant Abdominal Exploratory
Age may give us an indication of the type of problem. Ingested foreign bodies are more common in young animals and cancer is more common in older pets. The underlying problem that a pet may be having, frequently requires abdominal exploratory and sometimes biopsy of various internal organs.
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Weight loss
Palpable abdominal mass
Diagnosis
Prior to surgery a number of tests may be indicated to evaluate the patient for disease of the internal organs which may include
complete blood cell count
chemistry profile - checks for internal organ disease
urinalysis
x-rays - checks for obstruction of the intestine and for tumors
x-rays with barium swallow - checks for obstruction, ulcers, and tumors
ultrasound - checks for obstruction and tumors, thickness of bowels
CT scan - checks for obstruction, tumors
Your veterinarian may need to only do a few tests prior to abdominal exploratory is recommended, however in other cases much more extensive testing is required
Sometimes these tests also do not give us a final answer and exploratory surgery is needed.
A negative exploratory may be the result; that is, all of the internal organs appear normal. If we do not find any obvious problem with the internal organs, biopsies of the internal organs are collected as microscopic disease may be causing the clinical signs. Even though it may seem disappointing to not find a problem that can be surgically corrected, it is better to explore the abdomen than ignore a surgical problem that the pet otherwise could die from. Fortunately, most abdominal exploratories yield a surgically correctable disease.
Treatment (Abdominal exploratory and GI surgery)
Frequently the decision to do an abdominal exploratory is based on radiographs or ultrasonic evaluation. Many times these tests are suggestive of a specific problem involving the stomach or intestines. As a result, surgery is done in order to confirm what is suspected.
The negative exploratory. Even though it may seem disappointing to not find a problem that can be surgically corrected, it is better to explore the abdomen than ignore a potentially fatal problem. If no surgically correctable disease is found, biopsies of the internal organs are collected so that appropriate medical treatment may be recommended.
If a foreign body is found it is removed.
If a tumor is found it will be removed if it is surgically removable.
Aftercare
While in our hospital your pet may require the following:
monitoring in our intensive care unit (blood pressure, ECG, heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, and blood tests)
intravenous fluids
intravenous antibiotics
medications to control pain
anti vomiting medication
feeding of bland food; in some cases a feeding tube will be placed to provide a route for nutrition.
Care at home
exercise restriction for 3 weeks
check the incision twice daily for signs of infection which include redness, swelling, pain or discharge from the incision
watch for signs of illness such as vomiting or depression
encourage eating of palatable foods
If your pet has cancer and chemotherapy is needed it usually is started 2 weeks after surgery. In some cases it is started earlier. In general chemotherapy is given every 2 to 3 weeks for a total of 5 treatments. Our oncologist may elect to choose a protocol is different from the standard one if there is a need for this.
Potential Complications
Infection is possible, but not common following abdominal exploratory. A very serious infection called peritonitis may be caused by leakage from the sutured bowel. This would require a surgery to correct the problem.
A condition called intussusception of the intestine may occur. This condition results in the telescoping of the intestine upon itself which results in an intestinal obstruction.
If a malignant tumor was removed, recurrence of the tumor could occur.
MVS Surgery Team
Click on a name below to read a biography of a team member:
