Foreign Body - Sully Animal Hospital

Foreign Body (FB

Pets have the unfortunate tendency to eat things they shouldn't, and we aren't talking about food. Toys, socks, rocks and other materials find their way into pet stomachs but when the foreign body is a string, the consequences are especially direAnimals like to play with things and play often involves chewing. Chewing leads to accidental swallowing and from there potential disaster can ensue. Pets of any age will play with toysbut it is generally the youngsters who get into trouble with foreign bodies. Common objects,or foreign bodies, that are swallowed include:

Corn cobs
Balls
Socks and underwear
Rocks
Jewelry
Toys
Leashes and collars
Plastic bags (especially if there has been food inside)
Pieces of shoes
Coins - Pennies (are especially dangerous)
Sewing needles
Fish hooks

The list goes on. Playing escalates to chewing, which escalates to swallowing, or the object may be outright mistaken for food and swallowed. Often these objects will pass out the other end in a day or two, though it is possible for a small object to rattle around inside the stomach without passing for weeks. If the object does not pass and causes obstruction or partial obstruction, surgery will be needed to remove it. Prompt diagnosis allows for prompt removal of the foreign body before the bowel is badly damaged. In more advanced situations,sections of damaged bowel must be removed and in the worst possible scenario, the intestine breaks open and spills bacteria and digested food throughout the abdomen. Thislatter possibility is associated with very high mortality and is to be avoided at all costs.

The foreign body patient develops a poor appetite and vomits fairly quickly. Listlessness Comes soon after. Pain may be difficult to recognize and may simply appear as listlessness.The sooner the patient is evaluated by the doctor, the better.