My dog had obstruction surgery, but intestine removed. Is this normal?

Question

My dog just had surgery to remove an obstruction from his intestines. The vet said everything went well but she did they didn't find an obstruction while in there. She did have to remove a couple of inches of intestines because it was infected. Is it normal for a dog to pass an obstruction but still get an infection from it?

Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS · Accepted Answer

I'm wondering if you mean that he needed this bit of his intestines removed due to twisting of the intestines and/or necrosis (death of the tissue). If his intestines were infected, then the vet would treat with antibiotics and likely not remove them. It is possible that your dog developed an obstruction that finally passed on it's own, but it caused enough trauma to the area where it was stuck to necessitate removal of parts of the intestines. If the intestines became twisted or damaged, the blood supply would be severely compromised or lost completely, leading to death of the tissues. When that happens, that section of the intestine needs to be removed because it's not longer functioning. In cases of obstruction, having to remove parts of the intestine can be common. I hope this helps!

My dog had obstruction surgery, but intestine removed. Is this normal?

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