Removal of lodged esophageal foreign bodies by gastrotomy in two dogs

One of the most serious emergency situations in dogs is esophageal obstruction. Bones are mostly reported as foreign bodies which cause obstruction. This study reports two similar situations where dogs had a bone stuck in their esophagus. The dogs showed symptoms such as regurgitation, respiratory distress, salivation, and retching. The endoscopy had been attempted to migrate the bone orally in the previous veterinary clinics, but it failed and both cased were referred to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of Shiraz University. Plain radiography was repeated to confirm the presence of the foreign body. Initially, our treatment plan involved moving foreign objects toward the stomach before proceeding with a gastrostomy procedure. Due to the fact that both foreign bodies were lodged in the esophageal mucosa and the esophagus should not be incised as much as possible, a long fine-tips alligator forceps was used to pull out both foreign bodies from the gastrotomy incision. In both patients, the foreign bodies were removed from the esophagus without causing any mucosal damage. After wo weeks, the cases showed no complications.