Hungry Rex gets himself in trouble

Rex gets a bone caught in his oesophagus

Rex was referred to the AEC for removal of a lamb shank bone that had become lodged in his oesophagus. The bone was visible on the Xray sent with him by his referring veterinarian. Symptoms of a foreign body in the oesophagus include being unable to keep food down, excessive drooling, stretching out the neck, and gagging or swallowing repeatedly.  Most things that get stuck in the oesophagus are bones – both cooked and raw, but occasionally a soft object such as a chew, can get stuck.

At the AEC, Rex was put under general anaesthesia so that an endoscope, a long tubular camera, could be placed down his oesophagus – the lamb shank bone was lodged firmly in the oesophagus just where it connects to the stomach and because of its shape it had been unable to pass through. To pull the bone out would have meant passing through many important structures in the neck and chest, so the bone was pushed through the oesophagus and into the stomach, where it would be able to be digested. In order to allow Rex’s oesophagus to heal, a feeding tube was placed through the wall of his abdomen and into his stomach allowing him to be fed directly into his stomach.

After Rex recovered from anaesthesia, he was given supportive care and intravenous medications for another two days until he was comfortable and happy and could be fed all of his food through the tube into his stomach. He was able to go home with his owners at that point, but had to be fed all of his food, water, and medications through his tube. Two months after his bone was removed, Rex has had his tube removed and was able to eat and drink normally. Let’s hope that Rex’s appetite doesn’t get him into any more trouble!