Case Study: Oesophageal Foreign Body Obstruction

Oesophageal Foreign Body Obstruction, Thoracotomy, Oesophageal Resection and Anastomosis

One year ago, Lucky, a three-year-old Staffy, was transferred to Specialist Surgeon, Dr Jason Hoon for intervention of a perforating oesophageal foreign body obstruction.

Lucky had been to his regular vet clinic at Manly Road Vet and subsequently Koala Park Vet Clinic for the onset of symptoms including vomiting, twitching, inappetence and 'not seeming himself'. It was initially suspected that Lucky had cane toad toxicity, as he was seen hunting toads the previous evening.

A few days later, when his symptoms did not improve, Lucky’s concerned owners took him to Animal Emergency Services (AES), where a scope displayed severe necrosis of the oesophagus due to a significant bone foreign body perforating it. AES transferred Lucky to the care of Veterinary Specialist Services Underwood for further work-up and surgery. 

Due to the tricky location affected within the chest cavity, Dr Hoon performed a thoracotomy (open chest surgery) to allow for a 4cm oesophageal resection and anastomosis. This is a procedure performed in dogs to remove a section of the diseased oesophageal tract and reconstruct it, keeping the remaining healthy parts intact. A gastrostomy tube (G-Tube) was also placed, so Lucky could get nutrition via a feeding tube directly into his stomach for a week post-operatively. Lucky remained in PetICU for his recovery journey and was slowly re-introduced to oral feeding via diet trials to ensure safe healing of the oesophagus.

Lucky was very lucky. Through the commitment of his owners and skilled clinicians involved in his case, he has maintained an excellent recovery one year on from the terrible incident, especially considering his complex surgical journey.

Pictures: pre-surgery x-ray featuring bone foreign body, post-surgery featuring staples, feeding tubes and chest drain. Additional images supplied by Lucky's owners featuring Lucky resting during his recovery and one-year post-op.