Dogs and cats may require intestinal surgery for many different reasons. They can get foreign bodies (FB) from eating things they shouldn’t, they could have a cancerous growth, or they could have inflammatory problems in the intestines.

Dogs and cats with FB may require us to surgically remove it from the stomach or small intestine. Depending on the FB and the location, it will dictate what type of procedure is done, whether it is a small incision to remove the FB and then sew it back up or it may require us to remove a whole section of the intestine and then suture it back together. In general, animals that go to surgery for FB removal have a very good prognosis.

Animals that have cancerous growths of the GI system can undergo surgery as well.  Their prognosis depends on the type of cancer that is found and how extensive it is at the time of surgery.

Dogs and cats that have GI inflammatory problems will sometimes go to surgery to have full thickness biopsies performed so that they can be looked at by a pathologist so that the extent of the problem can be determined and appropriate management can be started.