Pet Blogs, Pet Health Care Advice, Symptoms | Pet Care Tips, Info



Dog Spleen Rupture Surgery Treatment | Dog Splenic Hemorrhage Causes

Filed under: Dog Health — Tags: , , — Nik @ 6:01 am

Dog Spleen Rupture

Dog spleen rupture or a splenic hemorrhage occurs when a dog spleen tumor bursts and begins to bleed. Continuous bleeding of a spleen tumor can invade a blood vessel and cause the blood to enter the abdominal cavity. Though splenic rupture is most often caused due to tumors, it may also bleed if it has been fractured or lacerated due to any injury or trauma.

The tumors in the spleen can be formed due to a local collection of blood. Such tumors can be either benign or malignant. Almost any tumor in the spleen has the potential to rupture and bleed, though many will not. Dog spleen rupture may turn out to be an emergency situation depending on the amount of lost blood and the rapidity with which blood has been lost.

The first symptom of the presence of a tumor or abnormality in the spleen is enlarged spleen in dogs. Some of the other symptoms of spleen rupture in dogs include complete collapse, increased effort in breathing, abdominal distention, and pale mucus membranes. Some of the more serious signs of chronic blood loss due to a rupture of spleen include lethargy, intermittent weakness, anorexia, and weight loss. For an accurate diagnosis of the dog’s condition, the vet will usually take down a thorough history of the dog’s health followed by a physical examination. The doctor also takes abdominal radiographs, complete blood count, and abdominocentesis, a test in which a needle syringe is inserted into the abdominal cavity and fluid obtained from the probe is evaluated.

There may be some other tests required for completely diagnosing the condition of the dog. However, these tests are largely dependent on the condition of the dog. Some of the tests are biochemical profile, abdominal ultrasound, coagulation panel, and a CT or MRI scan. The approach to treatment is determined by the condition of the dog and the amount of blood that has been lost due to the rupture in the spleen. The first part of the treatment includes intravenous fluid therapy, analgesic therapy for pain relief, a belly wrap, blood transfusions, and oxygen therapy. If these therapies are not making a difference in the dog’s health, an emergency exploratory surgery may have to be performed. Spleen rupture is almost always an emergency situation and veterinary care should be made available to the dog as soon as possible. It is important to keep the stress of the dog minimized to the lowest levels. If there has been a traumatic injury because of which the spleen has been injured, there may be physical signs of it and that too may need attention.