# Intestine twisting (mesenteric torsion) ???



## FLMuddyPaws (Jun 9, 2009)

Has anyone ever had a dog have this - intestine twisting, better known in the vet world as mesenteric torsion? 

My 6.5 very healthy lab had this two weeks ago - survived the surgery and now I'm looking for what to expect next. I'm told it very rare and dogs don't usually survive the surgery.


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## Erin Lynes (Apr 6, 2008)

Yikes! I have no experience with this but am glad your dog survived. What symptoms occurred that alerted you to a problem?


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## badbullgator (Dec 20, 2004)

Hey Jen
can you post what happened, the symptoms, how you noticed it, and what the treatment was? It may be very helpful to others to know what you and the muddy paws bunch went through. 
My guess is there are others who have had this happen. The weekends are not that busy on here so it may take a few days to get good comments. 

Welcome to RTF. 
BTW - tomorrow is Treasure Coast Retriever Cubs training day and annual meeting in Okeechobee. Come on over.


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## JHolmes (Dec 10, 2012)

I experienced this with my 2.5yr old lab,....Sadly ours was not a happy ending. It is rare that a dog survives a bout. Glad to hear of a positive outcome!!


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## wheelhorse (Nov 13, 2005)

Mine died too. 15 months old. Ripped the heart right out of me. 

There is usually a less then 1% chance a dog will survive because by the time we realize that something is wrong the blood supply to the intestines has been cut off for too long and the entire GI tract is dead. 

As for clinical signs, they are incredibly vague and usually nothing we rush to the vet with. A little off, picking at their food and some loose stool. By the time the signs become significant for us to get the dog to the vet, the blood supply to the intestines has been blocked and the intestines are dead.


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## Tnken (May 11, 2010)

We have had several dogs ( gsds and an occasional mal) stomach flip. Some make it some don't. One thing we always do is have the vet tack the stomach to their back so it doesn't happen again. Most of the dogs that die after the surgery only live a few days.


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## Trifecta (May 17, 2013)

A mesenteric torsion is different than the stomach flipping- bloat, or GDV. With a mesenteric torsion, the intestines twist around the mesentery, or blood supply. I tried saving one when I was in regular practice and the intestines were literally black and dead when we went in for surgery. No one is really sure what causes it, and thankfully its uncommon. I think its amazing that the OP has a dog that is pulling through. Typically by the time the dog is symptomatic the damage has long been done.


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## Trifecta (May 17, 2013)

I just searched on PubMed to see if I could find more info for you about prognosis. There is one case report from Canada from 2000. It appears to be the only case report of a surviving animal as the mortality rate is considered to be 100%. Apparently that dog had diarrhea for several months after wards, but was alive at the last followup visit 8 months after surgery. I wish I could offer more as far as what to expect, but your dog has already done amazing things by beating the odds!

Please keep us posted- it would be great to know how your dog does long term. I think its a great sign that you're already 2 weeks post-op.


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## FLMuddyPaws (Jun 9, 2009)

Thanks so far for the responses!

What happened - Alex and I were traveling from Fort Myers to St Pete - we had been in the truck for 90 minutes - he lays in a kennel and usually just adjusts - if he has to go he will sit up and cry - this time he kept moving around the crate like he was hurting - we had done no activity before leaving since it was raining. I stopped to see if he had to go - he would walk about 3 feet then sit, he ate some grass then walk a few more feet, I noticed that he would pull his back legs to the back of his body like he was trying to stretch his tummy - then immediately sit - as Corey can testify Alex is a very healthy vibrant and athletic pup even at 6 years old - we were on our way to the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge on an invite for dock jumping - Alex seemed stressed so I immediately looked for a vet - I went to one that was right off I75 - mind you my best friend/breeder of Alex is also my vet - I was in constant contact with her - she suggested a GasX thinking he just had gas - she had just seen him before we left the area because I always get his microchip read when leaving for an event - he appeared to be perfectly fine 90 minutes before - the first vet was not equipped for surgery per se and only took xrays - the doctor talked to Teri and was concerned of a stomach flip - he sent me to a specialist to get an ultra sound - after a 30 minute drive to the specialist and 1 minute under the ultrasound I was sent to an Emergency Hospital where I was fortunate was close and there was an Emergency Critical Care doctor on duty - Alex was no longer able to walk in and I carried him - he dropped one ball of #2 in the lobby and no longer could move - I carried him to the back and they started IVs, several xrays and laid him in a kennel. On Duty doctor had reviewed the films and could not tell what was wrong - she sent them to my doctor who also could not tell - he was in more pain - I decided to let the doctor go in and do exploratory surgery so approximately from the time I stopped to this emergency hospital another 90 minutes had passed - as soon as she went in his intestines were purple - she started to untwist them and was unsure if he was going to make it - after a few minutes they turned pink - there were no tears, nothing but some mushy debris in the intestines. The doctor tacked up his stomach and closed. Of course the next 18 hours were critical since he went into shock. 10 hours after the surgery he did stand up and walk out of the kennel to go pee. As of today (18 days post op) he is still eating only canned Rx I/D, he has lost weight (approx 5 pounds) he is very playful yet after he eats he does lay down, he is being fed small meals every four hours and we have started B12 injections for the next 6 weeks. 

Symptoms: uneasy behavor in the kennel - not normal while traveling, walking/sitting, stretching of his back legs up and out towards the tail, he did have some vomitting after the drive to the second and third vet, anxious and stressed.

I'm looking for anything on why it happens, how it happens, what to do to prevent it and most of all - can it happen again??

I'm not sure what to do about feeding him so at this point its trial and error in very small quantities

Thanks for reading!! I am so sorry for all who have lost their pups to this and I pray none of you have to endure this scare or pain.


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## Labs R Us (Jun 25, 2010)

Wow, glad to hear your dog is doing well and hope it continues. As owners, we need to be observant of our dog's behavior as these issues can arise quickly and need prompt attention.


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## Keith S. (May 6, 2005)

Glad to hear your dog is getting better. Thank you for describing the chain of events, I'm sure that isn't easy. My wife and I observed my old dog with very similar behavior last week. It came out of now where and she acted like this for approximately 30 min, I was getting call the vet and she snapped out of it. If this happens again I'll get her to the vet asap and can let him know what to possibly look for. Again, thank you.

Keith


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## badbullgator (Dec 20, 2004)

Jen

Wow you were very lucky Alex was in the truck with you and not in a kennel in the back or a trailer. I may not have noticed anything as quickly as you. After reading those above who lost dogs to this it sounds like you just happened to be in the right place at he right time. Had him with you, noticed about as soon as possible, followed up with a vet (I think many might have taken the wait and see attitude), found a vet, got lucky and were able to get him to an emergency vet who had knowledge of this condition. 
Anyone can be good if they try, but lucky is another thing. Many times it is better to be lucky than good, but it looks like yo happened to have the perfect balance between the two. 
Hope Alex continues to a full recovery.


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## Trifecta (May 17, 2013)

I don't know that you're going to find any answers as far as the how/why/will it happen again. I've never heard of a dog surviving to have a second opportunity.

Thank god you picked up on the symptoms so quickly. I'm sure that saved his life.


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## 2tall (Oct 11, 2006)

Is there any indication of what could cause this? It is hard to imagine an intestine just up and twisting around if there was not an injury or foreign body. This is tickling a memory I have of a poster on RTF losing a dog this way. As I recall though, the necropsy showed fishing line twisted around the intestine??? Or is it possible this could happen in a bad fall or twist? Anyway to the OP, I am so happy that you still have your dog and were able to post this as a positive learning experience.


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## wheelhorse (Nov 13, 2005)

Mesenteric torsion is not just a simple twist in the intestine. It occurs when the the entire GI tract twists around at its root, where the blood, lymph and ligaments attach. Blood supply to the entire tract is completely occluded and tissue death occurs a mere 5 minutes after the twist.

http://web-dvm.net/mesenterictorsion.html


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## Trifecta (May 17, 2013)

They are associated with intussception, EPI, and a variety of other GI diseases but there is no direct cause and effect relationship. Notwithstanding, since the survival rate is so poor, I doubt there are many opportunities to find out if there was another disease present (unless its something very obvious, like a big whopping tumor). There was a paper looking at EPI and rates of mesenteric torsion- both are considered over-represented in German Shepherd Dogs.


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## FLMuddyPaws (Jun 9, 2009)

Again thanks for the responses - if anyone talks to their vets and they have ANY input please ask them to email me - [email protected] - I also have pictures and short videos of Alex as it was happening before we reached the emergency vet....

Be safe


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## DRAKEHAVEN (Jan 14, 2005)

One of my personal dogs had 48" THATS CORRECT (forty eight inches) of her small intestine removed on November 18th 2012. This is completely uncharted territory for my vet staff, 4 vets close to 100 years of practice. At this point we are fighting what we hope is a bacterial infection of the GI tract, and not some other more serious side effect of this. If you would like to discuss further give me a call.


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## AmyScully (Nov 5, 2014)

*My dog survived mesenteric torsion*



FLMuddyPaws said:


> Has anyone ever had a dog have this - intestine twisting, better known in the vet world as mesenteric torsion?
> 
> My 6.5 very healthy lab had this two weeks ago - survived the surgery and now I'm looking for what to expect next. I'm told it very rare and dogs don't usually survive the surgery.


My dog had Mesenteric Torsion and he survived it also. It happened about 2-3 years ago. He is having some issues now and I am not sure if it's because of this issue. When he eats he gets bloated, he will get gassy and burp and then he is fine. He has also loss some weight. I feed him three times daily and even soften his food and put it in the blender to see if that helps. I have done lots of things to figure it out. I have tried multiple foods, meds, and supplement and he still has the issue. I am going to have a ultrasound done on him next week to see if we can find anything and to see if it is from sx. He is doing fine otherwise. I will keep you posted once I have the ultrasound done and talk with the doctor who dose the procedure.


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## LeilaniJ (Dec 5, 2014)

I just found your posting while I was researching this topic. My great dane had 3feet of small intestine removed several weeks ago as a result of mesenteric torsion. Can you give me an update on how your dog is and what steps you took during the recovery? Any advice/suggestions would be really appreciated! I am having an awful time getting his diarrhea under control.

Thank you so much, and I do hope your dog is doing well.
Leilani


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## badbullgator (Dec 20, 2004)

LeilaniJ said:


> I just found your posting while I was researching this topic. My great dane had 3feet of small intestine removed several weeks ago as a result of mesenteric torsion. Can you give me an update on how your dog is and what steps you took during the recovery? Any advice/suggestions would be really appreciated! I am having an awful time getting his diarrhea under control.
> 
> Thank you so much, and I do hope your dog is doing well.
> Leilani


I don't think she post here much, but the dog is doing very well. I will pass this on to her via facebook so she can respond


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## RMC$$$ (Oct 1, 2012)

I experienced this with 2 dogs. One made it one did not. The dog that survived the surgery seemed to age much quicker than normal. He got prematurely gray hair on his face and seemed to act much older than his age.
He lived to be about 9 so his life was a little shorter than normal.

Both dogs were extremely fast eaters. They would wolf their food down like they were starving and had not eaten in days.

Since then I always wet their dry food before feeding. A vet told me that dogs will eat and then drink a lot of water that causes the dog food to expand and cause discomfort. They start to roll and that increases the possibility of their stomach twisting. Similar to a horse that colics will roll to try and relieve the discomfort of their belly hurting.

I would like to hear what the vets on here think on the subject.

Does wetting their food prevent this from happening?

Is this a freak occurrence or can it be hereditary?

Are fast eaters more prone to this happening?


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## FLMuddyPaws (Jun 9, 2009)

Alex is doing great thankfully. He had none of his intestines removed during his two emergency surgeries.

I'm praying for your pup. 

First- you need to be positive. No matter what - I've learned through this entire thing that Alex responds to my emotions. 

His diet is Hill's prescription ZD- canned. It's the hypoallergenic food. Expensive no matter where you get it.

I have found that there are several times that the canned food is not perfect - I've had to return over 10 cases of food - I've even talked to the reps about the difficulties. If it's too hard to cut with a fork do not give it to your dog. 

Alex did not respond well to the kibble - I'm trying to move back to that this month. I give him 2 to 4 pieces of kibble soaked (fully soaked) a meal.

He only gets bottled or filtered water. 

He gets 1/2 of a 13 ounce can per meal or a full can of the 5.5 ounce cans - these have had the worst turnover on the food being ok. Every feeding there is at least one cup of water in the food - the food is "mushed" to make it easier to digest. (Or so I think it helps)

Alex's feeding schedule is designed as to not make his intestines work as hard. He is fed at midnight, 4am, 6am, 8am, 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, 7pm, 9pm. 

I have found that him playing ball every night keeps his intestines working. Or swimming depending on our availability of a pool. 

He does not play 30-45 min before or after eating. 

If we are doing a lot of playing - then at night - after work I will feed him 4pm, 8pm and midnight. 

The most time so far that I've been able to go is 6 hours between feedings - but I can hear his intestines grumble. 

If he has started to drool - one Tums - has been able to resolve that. If it continues more than 15 minutes past the taking of the pill then I give him one 500 mg of metronidazole at the next feeding. 

If I hear a lot of grumbling - he shows it - the intestines are doing a lot of movement that hurts. So we take it easy at night. 

Alex has had an issue with his anal glands- we did 3 days of 1000 mg of metronidazole which cleared it up - the anal glands are still an issue about once every 12-14 weeks. I usually give him the metronidazole for 2-3 days. 

We've had an issue with stomach acid. I think it's caused by the bad food- I'll give him Pepcid for a 4-5 days if it's been bad. 

If he begins to bloat - gas just won't get out by burps or farts I give him one GasX. The issue that I have found with GasX - none of the 7 doctors I have spoken to can explain this - if Alex has had one GasX on a bad tummy acid week, he will run by me and I can hear sloshing water from his intestinal area. I've been told by one doctor his intestines have become paralyzed by the GasX. This usually resolves itself within a few hours - I've found that extra play times gets the blood moving to also resolve it. 

Alex had his stomach tacked up during his first surgery done by Dr ReDavid at Sarasota Emergency Veterinarian Hospital on May 2, 2013. 

In September 2013 he had been receiving acupuncture from Dr Brown at East West Animal Hospital in Cape Coral every 2 weeks in an attempt to resolve bloating and the intestinal grumbles. One day after a treatment he bloated to the extent that his intestines slid up between the sidewall and the stomach pushing on his organs. He showed signs of bloat and had blood coming from his anus. He received emergency surgery on September 19, 2013 by Dr Eisle at Specialized Veterinary Surgery in Estero (now in Fort Myers). Pictures taken immediately after he was opened up revealed that his lower intestines were over 6 inches in diameter with inflammation. Biopsy revealed that he had inflammatory bowel disease which is actually just a catch all diagnosis. 

This surgery the doctor tacked his intestines in 4 places to not allow the intestines to slide. 

I believe that the tacking of both the tummy and intestines is what is keeping him in a good place. He still bloats occasionally however my biggest difficulty has been acid. 

I do give him Triflexis monthly - this usually results in nausea for the very next 24 hours. One Tums resolves that. I try not to give him more than 6 Tums a month. 

I never give him the sugar free Tums. 

I do have a dog sitter 24 hours a day for him. If I'm at work then he has a sitter. If I'm off then he's with me - on bad days he will sit in a corner with his head down and licks - one doctor told me that this means his tummy is in distress - playing ball resolves this - I make him lay down and do not let him lick. I've even used a cone to prevent him from putting his head down. 

I take him with me to go shopping - he can usually sit in a kennel for 15-20 minutes without trying to sit and put his head down. Makes for power shopping at the grocery store. Maybe he saves me money by making me just get what I need. 

Since the second surgery we've been on the ZD - we've had no diarrhea - his poops have actually been hard as rock. Sometimes I think too hard so we get in extra play time. 

I've had a few bouts of soft poops - usually after his Triflexis treatments. 

Dr Alexander (Santa Barbara Animal Hospital Cape Coral) has only given him one other vaccine which is to prevent kennel cough - I can't think of the drug right now - it was given as an injection instead of via the nose. This is because he does travel to many places and we have a lot of dogs over to visit. 

I do keep my home clean with Clorox clean up. Every 2 weeks I completely bleach the kennels, dishes and truck kennels, floors and patios. My carpet is old so once a month I use Clorox clean up - not strictly bleach - in the carpet cleaner. 

I wipe down all of the counters with Clorox wipes where his food is prepared daily. 

I spray Lysol in each room monthly. 

I have 4 cats - I change their litter boxes every 2 weeks and use Clorox clean up in their boxes. 

I do give him a bath every 4 months. I use Johnson and Johnson's Baby Shampoo - I thinks it's easier on his tummy if he licks his body for any reason. 

He's been extremely positive during all of this and like I said he reacts to my emotions. 

I've weighed him weekly. Before the first surgery he was 65 pounds. After the first surgery he was 54 pounds. He finally started gaining weight 6 months after the second surgery. He's up to 68 pounds. 

When his sisters have gone into heat - he is not fixed - he has gotten stressed and would not eat. I did a week of metronidazole to resolve the extra testosterone in his system. 

He does hump his brothers daily - I do make him stop after he gets too crazy - however I sometimes feel that letting him hump does exercise the intestines - so I let it go a little longer - I just don't let the dog sitters let him keep going. Sounds weird. 

We also do one exercise daily - I make his sit up like he's begging and this strengths the core muscles. We only do it for 30 seconds a day. Usually in the morning. 

I do not let him stretch - jump up - as I'm afraid that he could still tear the tacks. All of the doctors tell me he should be ok. I just don't take the chance. 

I do have videos and pictures. 

If you ever need anything please don't hesitate to ask. I will tell you that everything I've done is with some doctor instruction - I've not really had one doctor give me direction as they will all tell you that they just do not know. I keep my primary vet advised usually daily or weekly - we are friends and she is Alex's breeder. I'm not sure if she keeps it documented in his file if I text her that he's been sick - I usually put it in my calendar. 

I'm not sure if this is what you were looking for but I hope something helps.


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## LeilaniJ (Dec 5, 2014)

Thank you!


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## 480/277 (Jun 5, 2014)

Lost my bunny dog Mae.
Rabbit hunted on a Sat, put her in her kennel, she was
dead in the morning. 
only thing I noticed was the last bunny she seemed slower
and tired.
She was a good little bunny dog......


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## runnerbabe53 (Mar 16, 2015)

Two weeks ago, my chocolate lab experienced intestinal twisting. I honestly don't know if it was actually mesenteric torsion as his symptoms started to appear in the late evening after a walk and I initially thought it was just stomach upset, which he gets from time to time, and went to bed. In the morning he was pacing a lot and couldn't settle down. I decided not to walk him, but just let him out. It was very cold and none of the snow had melted yet. I had a hard time getting him in; he just sat down in the snow and I thought he was acting like he went outside to die. I did succeed in coaxing him in and he vomited a white, foamy kind of vomit. That's when I started to think it may be gastric torsion, which is more common. My son thought we should wait and see if it just ran it's course, but my instincts told me things were bad and so I called the vet and got him in. The long time frame (about 12 hours) that he exhibited symptoms makes me question whether it actually twisted on the mesentery or if I just got extremely lucky with him. When they did the ultrasound they saw that his intestines were totally twisted and recommended immediate surgery, or euthanasia. While they were in there untangling his intestines, he started hemorrhaging severely. Because of that they wanted to get in and out quickly, so his intestines were not tacked down. I was given a very poor prognosis, especially after the hemorrhaging he experienced. It's only been two weeks now, but so far his recovery has been remarkable and he looks even better than before the incident, which makes me think there was something going on prior. Before the incident, he hadn't been quite as perky as in the past but he's 10 years old, and I attributed it to aging. They ran a whole bunch of tests on him to try to determine both the possible cause of the twisting AND of the hemorrhaging (his clotting factor was quite low). I still don't have answers for either - all his tests came back negative. He received a couple plasma transfusions which helped the clotting. We are keeping an eye on his blood count - he had a complete CBC panel today. I'm so happy that he's alive and doing well, but I must admit I get a little nervous about him now. I consider myself extremely lucky that he came out of this so successfully since it kills so quickly - and it took me some time to figure out something was seriously wrong with him - like I said 12 hours. According to what I've read, he should been dead before I even got him to the vet. The vets said that despite the twisting and the hemorrhaging, his intestines looked healthy. I'm thankful, but puzzled as to what could have caused this. I'm thinking it could have been something nasty he picked up on his walk and am actually thinking of getting him a muzzle to keep him from grabbing stuff while on his walk. He can find things before I ever see them.


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