Foreign Bodies, Intestinal

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  • Foreign bodies of all types can be found in the intestines.
  • While some may pass through posing no problems, others can cause acute obstruction,
  • Quite common in dogs
    • Rare in other species - tend to lodge in the oesophagus or in one of the ruminant stomachs.)
    • Enteroliths can be seen in horses greater than 4 years of age.
      • Are stones consisting of magnesium ammonium phosphate around a central nidus (often a metallic foreign body)
      • Typically lodge at the pelvic flexure or the transverse colon.
  • Clinical
    • Obstruction at pylorus produces repeated vomiting.
    • Obstrustion lower down gives less dramatic effect.
  • Diagnosis
    • May not show up well radiographically (unless radio-opaque) for several days.
      • May also be objects that are semi solid or soft, e.g.
        • String
        • Plastic bags
        • Stringy things, like pieces of material- particularly in puppies.
    • Make all of intestines have knotted appearance.
    • May be seen in horses with baler twine.
  • Pathogenesis
    • Smooth, round objects, such as golf balls, lodge especially near the pylorus or lower down.
    • Occasionally in cattle (piece of rope or piece of tarpaulin) produces a tangled mass in rumen.
    • Cause pressure necrosis and eventually perforation.
    • Foreign bodies can also be chronic, remaining for long periods of time without causing disturbance.