Zoe's bony treat

Zoe came to see us after-hours one Sunday night when her owner noticed she was retching and bringing up large volumes of frothy saliva. It had been a couple of hours since Zoe was given her usual meal with some raw beef bones. Zoe is a bright and friendly little dog but we could clearly see straight away that something wasn't right. She was swallowing frequently and had a lot of drooling.

We were suspicious that Zoe might have something stuck in her throat. Fortunately she was breathing comfortably and after a check up we anaesthetised Zoe and took an xray that showed a piece of bone stuck right above the base of her heart. This is a common location for bones to get stuck as the oesophagus narrows at this point. Part of Zoe's anaesthetic management involved placement of an endo-tracheal tube in her airway to allow her to breathe safely and to prevent any saliva from getting into her lungs.

The next step was to use an endoscope to see all the way down Zoe's oesophagus so we could visualise the bone. The endoscope is like a camera on the end of a long flexible cable with a light source so we can see into long narrow tubes. The end can be moved in different directions to allow the best picture. We were able to see the bone, which was quite large, and with the use of some long forceps we were able to grasp the bone and remove it gently. We were then able to use the endoscope to carefully examine the lining of Zoe's throat to make sure there wasn't any damage done by the bone. The oesophagus is very delicate and sometimes there can be problems when it heals as a scar or stricture can form which can prevent food from passing down easily. Fortunately Zoe's oesophagus looked good and she woke up feeling much better.

Zoe went home the next day after her breakfast with some medication to keep her throat comfortable.
Zoe's story highlights the usefulness of our endoscope. Before endoscopes were used in animals, dogs like Zoe would have had to have a major surgery to open up the chest cavity and remove the bone. This would have been much more traumatic for her with a longer recovery period and greater likelihood of scarring. The endoscope is useful of other procedures as well such as collecting intestinal biopsies and looking into the airways. We have different sized endoscopes to fit all our different patients.

Zoe was very lucky but it reminds us to be very careful with what we feed our pets. All chewable treats including bones, rawhide and toys can become a foreign body if the dog eats them whole. It is important to watch your pets closely while they are eating chewables and to choose the right type for your pet. Our staff can advise you of the best kind of chews for your dog or cat.