[Tobias Poindexter in Hospital]

[Note: This was written by Toby's mom.]

Hi friends,

I just wanted to let you know that Tobias Poindexter is currently recovering well at the Veterinary Specialty Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery for Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus (GDV), a.k.a. Bloat. Last night, around 10pm, Toby seemed a little funny. He squealed a little when he jumped on the bed, so we thought that he was having trouble with his hips again. We patted him, gave him some pain killer, and asked if he wanted to go outside. He immediately went out and started pacing around. Soon after that he was dry-heaving and then sitting down and getting immediately back up again. I suspected GDV, as Dr. Cagle, his normal vet, had warned us about and called the emergency pet place in Durham. We got in around 1am, and they confirmed the bloat with xrays, decompressed his stomach, gave him fluids and stabilized him before sending him to the Specialty Hospital in Cary. He was admitted into surgery by 4am and out of surgery by 6am. (I don't think it took all of two hours...) Beth and I stayed in a little consult room with a couch and chair until we knew he was out of the woods, and were home by 6:45am. (Just in time to take a "nap" before work/school!) We will be visiting him tonight, and they predict he will be discharged Thursday afternoon.

Basically, Toby's stomach was flipped-over and full of air, a condition called Bloat/Gastric Torsion - it happens commonly in large breeds with deep chests and is life-threatening since it chokes off things (yeah, yeah, I don't do medical terms). In surgery, they un-flip his stomach, put things back in there proper place, check to make sure there hasn't been more damage to major arteries, stomach and spleen, and then do a prophylactic gastropexy, where they "tack" his stomach to the abdominal wall so it can't twist over again. You can read more about the condition here if you want.

Anyway, thought you'd like to know so you can keep him in your prayers. The prognosis is good since we caught it so early. I'm just glad we knew about this condition ahead of time and were able to recognize the symptoms!


Toby should be back on-line soon!