Poor Abby...

So, I guess Abby didn't eat a candle. Whatever she ate is about the size of the golfball and contains some metal because it showed up in x-rays (possibly a rock.) The vet referred me to a surgical center in Carrollton for an endoscopic procedure. That way they could go into her stomach and try to retrieve it without invasive surgery. A couple of problems with this...

Great Danes are prone to bloat (as are any large, barrel chested dogs). Bloat can lead to stomach torsion (where the stomach flips) which is the number one giant breed killer. In order to use the endoscope they would have to inflate the stomach. After surgery they would deflate it, but if they were able to remove the object and it caused irritation, it could bloat anyway, leading to torsion.

So I asked the vet at the surgical center what he would do if she were his dog. He said the full surgery. He said that a) they would without a doubt be able to get the object out (which is not a definite with the endoscopy), b) it wouldn't cause bloat, and c) they could tack her stomach in order to prevent torsion forever. When they tack the stomach it eventually adheres to whatever they tack it to (I don't remember) which prevents it from flipping for the rest of her life. AND the surgery only costs a few hundred dollars more. It's really a no-brainer.

So my vet transported her to the surgical clinic where she is spending the night before surgery first thing in the morning. As she's getting out of surgery, I'll be going into the Urologist's office. FUN! We'll see what wonderful things he plans on sticking up tiny holes.