Clinical-surgical approach in dog with extensive linear strange body

Abstract

In the routine of the small animal medical clinic, the foreign body is a relatively common occurrence, especially when it comes to young animals, from small to medium size or exaggerated appetite and great curiosity. Cases of linear foreign bodies are particularly more complex than other types of foreign bodies due to the area that they end up being of greater extent and thus result in more severe cases with a greater inflammatory process affecting the bacterial populations of the local microbiota. When they affect the enteric region, the linear foreign body may develop intussusception. The symptoms can be wide ranging, ranging from signs characteristic of the gastrointestinal tract, such as vomiting and poor appetite, to more systemic symptoms such as fever, apathy and inflammatory disorders. The diagnosis must include anamnesis, physical and clinical examinations, observation of the animal's general condition, history and relevant information and predisposing factors such as breed and age may be important for the case. Imaging and laboratory tests assist in diagnosis and have a fundamental role in staging the time of onset and specifying the location where the foreign body is located in the gastroenteric tract. This work aims to report a case of an exceptional linear foreign body due to its extension of approximately 30 meters and the complexity of the surgical technique of its removal that associated a gastrotomy and four enterotomies. Despite the complexity of the surgical intervention, the result and prognosis observed in the animal was positive, with rapid post-surgical recovery.