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Should my dog get a gastropexy during spay to prevent bloat?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Great Dane | Female | unspayed | 2 months and 11 days old | 20 lbs

Should I get my dog a gastropexy to help prevent bloat when she gets spayed? What are the pros and cons of the surgery? I monitor her but I’m very much in love with her and so afraid of bloat.

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

Published on July 18th, 2018

Hi there. Since Shelby is a Great Dane, yes - I would recommend having a gastropexy done at the time of her spay. This is generally a very safe procedure with no significant downsides, and is very effective at preventing gastric torsion later in life. Pros: nearly 100% effective at preventing gastric torsion Cons: a bit of added expense, a slightly longer spay incision and slightly increased anesthesia time I recommend that all giant-breed females have this procedure done at the time of their spay, since the benefits far outweigh the risks and bloat/gastric torsion is a significant problem in these breeds. I hope that helps! :)

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

    Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

    Published on

    Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There is really not contraindications to do this procedure and the benefit is so important that I would highly consider this especially if she is already going under anesthesia for the spay. This is kind of the ideal scenario for this. Good luck and have a great day!

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    Answered By Maria DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on November 24th, 2017

    Yes you can have a veterinarian perform the procedure. It is called a Gastropexy. Some general practitioners will perform the surgery with the spay (which is perfectly safe to do). I would call your veterinarian and see if they are comfortable doing this and if they are not you can always have a specialist perform the surgery with the spay. Some specialists will be able to do laproscopic surgery also if you wanted to call them and speak with them about it. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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