Abdominal surgery

Abdominal surgery for dogs, cats and NACs

Abdominal surgery is a surgical specialty that treats organs located in the abdominal cavity, such as the digestive organs (stomach, intestines, colon), digestive appendages (liver and gallbladder, pancreas), spleen, urinary tract (kidneys, ureters, bladder, urethra), male and female genital tract, adrenal glands, lymphatic network .... Techniques can be open or laparoscopic (minimally invasive). A wide variety of techniques are available, depending on whether the surgery is intended to treat disease, infection, trauma or congenital anomalies. It requires multidisciplinary expertise to ensure comprehensive, patient-friendly care.

Are any special tests required before abdominal surgery?

Depending on the nature of the operation and the organs involved, pre-operative examinations may be necessary. They are designed to clarify your pet's state of health prior to surgery, and help us establish an anesthetic protocol. They are also important to establish the surgical indications and limit the risks, as well as to ensure a good convalescence follow-up. These examinations are often carried out by your attending veterinarian. If not, they will be presented to you during the pre-surgery consultation.

What abdominal surgeries are most commonly performed at the Agoravet clinic?

Our abdominal surgery service covers a wide range of procedures, tailored to the specific needs of dogs, cats and New Pets.

Sterilization (Ovariectomy, Castration):

• Ovariectomy: Removal of the ovaries in females to prevent heat, reduce the risk of mammary tumors and eliminate the possibility of uterine disease. Only complicated cases, such as those involving high-risk anesthesia, are covered. This type of operation is usually performed by your veterinarian. However, minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques are available for medium-sized to large bitches.
• Castration: Removal of the testicles in males to prevent undesirable behavior and reduce the risk of testicular tumors and prostate disease. This type of operation is performed by your regular veterinarian. We only perform this procedure in very special cases.

• Foreign Body Extraction:
  • Animals, especially young ones, can ingest inedible objects (toys, tissues, bones, etc.) that can cause intestinal obstructions or lesions. Foreign bodies can sometimes be removed endoscopically if they are located in the esophagus or stomach. In other cases, surgery is often required.

• Treatment of tumors:
  • Abdominal tumors: Complementary diagnosis and resection of benign or malignant tumors in the abdominal organs (liver, spleen, intestines, kidneys).
  • Biopsies: Biopsies are taken to determine the nature of abdominal masses or chronic digestive diseases such as lymphoma or IBD. This helps to clarify and guide treatment.

• Hernia correction:
  • Umbilical hernia: Surgical repair of umbilical hernias, common in young animals.
  • Inguinal hernia: Treatment of inguinal hernias, which can cause pain and complications. They can occur spontaneously or as a result of an accident.
  • Diaphragmatic hernia: Repair of diaphragmatic hernias often resulting from trauma
  • Perineal hernias: repair of perineal hernias, which mainly occur in male dogs. Castration and abdominal surgery (colopexy, deferentopexy) are usually recommended.
  • Abdominal hernia : repair of abdominal muscle tears leading to a hernia. They are often the result of serious accidents.

• Gastrointestinal disorders:
  • Intestinal obstructions: surgery to remove obstructions caused by foreign bodies or tumour masses.
  • Gastric torsion (volvulus): Surgical correction of this life-threatening emergency, often in large breeds of dog.
  • Severe enteritis: Surgical treatment of severe inflammation of the intestine that does not respond to medical treatment.
  • intestinal intussusception: treatment of intussusception by enterectomy
  • Enterotomies / enterectomies

• Bladder and Urinary Tract Surgery:
  • Urinary calculi: Removal of bladder or urethral calculi that cause urinary obstruction and infection.
  • Bladder tumors: Removal of tumor masses in the bladder to restore normal urination and prevent cancer progression
  • Uretrostomies: frequent surgery in cats in particular. It is performed for recurrent urinary obstructions.
  • SUB (subcutaneous ureteral bypass) treatment of ureteral obstruction

• Hepatic and biliary surgery:
  • Hepatic lobectomy: Removal of liver lobes affected by tumors, abscesses or damaged by trauma.
  • Cholecystectomy or bile duct detour: the flow of bile into the intestines is sometimes altered by diseases of the bile ducts.

• Chirurgie de la rate : 
  • Splenectomy: Removal of the spleen in cases of splenic tumors, ruptures or torsions.

• Correction of Congenital Deformities:
  • Portosystemic: Correction of portosystemic shunts to restore normal blood circulation in the liver. These shunts may be intra- or extra-hepatic.
  • Digestive organ malformations: Treatment of congenital malformations affecting the digestive function of animals.

How is abdominal surgery performed?

Pre-operative consultation: to assess the animal's state of health and to carry out any diagnostic tests (blood tests, X-rays, ultrasounds) that may be required.

Anesthesia: Depending on the initial health assessment, an appropriate anesthetic protocol is defined to guarantee the animal's safety and comfort.

Surgery: Our team performs the surgery.

Recovery and Post-Operative Monitoring: Careful monitoring during the recovery phase to prevent complications.

Your pet may need to be hospitalized after abdominal surgery.

Post-operative care: Detailed instructions for aftercare and planning follow-up visits to your veterinarian.