Meet Summer, a beautiful and BIG Great Dane. Did you know? Great Danes can grow from a small little puppy to being able to stand up on their hind legs and reach up to 6-7 feet tall within a span of just 1 year!
Summer presented to Miami Veterinary Specialists for a consulation with one of our surgeons for a preventive gastropexy. A gastropexy is a surgical operation in which the stomach is sutured to the abdominal wall or diaphgram to prevent the stomach from turning or getting a “bloat”. A bloat is a very common condition in large breed dogs and occurs when the stomach fills with gas, making it expand. The expansion creates pressure on other organs, causing very dangerous health complications, including: no blood flow into the heart, rupture of stomach wall, breathing difficulties, shock and even death.
Large and deep-chested breeds like Summer are prone to get a bloat. It is very common for large breed dogs to have this procedure done to decrease their high risk of getting a bloat. She was seen by Dr. Alvaro Larin, one of our board-certified surgeons, who successfully performed a gastropexy.
Here at MVS, we have two different types of gastropexy procedures. The first one is the traditional gastropexy where the abdomen is opened in order to perform the surgery. The second, is a laparascopic gastropexy, which is a minimally invasive procedure that allows our doctors perform the surgery through smaller incisions. A small camera is inserted through the belly button followed by special equipment used to grasp the stomach and attach it to the body wall. In Summer’s case, a traditional gastropexy was performed.

One day after the surgery, Summer is looking well and ready to go back home to her loving family!