34th Annual Scientific Meeting proceedings

Objectives:

This retrospective study assessed the outcomes and indicators affecting hospitalisation duration after incisional gastropexy for acute gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV) at a single institution (2003–2024). We hypothesised that age, duration of the interval from the start of clinical symptoms to surgery, and the need for adjunctive surgical procedures during the same anaesthesia impact the time to discharge.

Methods:

The hospital records were screened for dogs that received gastropexy for GDV and survived the surgery. Surgery-related data, outcome, time of symptom onset, start and duration of surgery, anaesthesia, and hospitalisation duration were investigated. The time from the end of anaesthesia to discharge was used to divide the dogs into Group 1 (<24 hours), Group 2 (24–48 hours), Group 3 (>48 hours), and Group 4 (died during postoperative hospitalisation).

Results:

The study included 355 dogs. Dogs in Group 1 were young and had a short surgery with a few additional procedures. Group 2 had similar age and surgery times as Group 1, but required more additional procedures. Dogs in Group 3 were older than in the other groups, required more additional procedures, and had longer surgeries. The age of dogs in Group 4 was comparable to that in Groups 1 and 2; they required additional procedures like Group 3 and had the longest surgeries.

Conclusions:

Older patients required additional procedures and had long surgeries and hospital stays. The time of the day at presentation and the symptom-to-surgery interval showed no effect on hospitalisation duration. The retrospective nature of the study and varying expertise among surgeons may have contributed to data variations. This study could help in surgical decision-making and prognosis.