Dr. Phil Zeltzman’s Blog

Link is an eight year old male Shar Pei who had an emergency surgery because of intussusception of the small intestine.

Intussusception is a weird disease of the intestine where one bowel loop squeezes inside another, like a sock or a telescope. The inner portion then slowly “dies.”

Younger dogs tend to have an intussusception because of parasites, parvovirus, or foreign bodies. Older dogs usually develop intussusception if they have intestinal cancer. Sure enough, Link’s ultrasound was suggested the worst. In spite of the odds, Link’s owners elected surgery.

One week later, the biopsy revealed that Link did have a tumor in the intussusception, but it was benign leiomyoma! Below, you can see the part of the intestine that was removed.

Three weeks after surgery, Link’s guardians say he is “Doing fabulous. Mom can’t keep him from jumping. He is eating well, has no more vomiting and his skin incision healing well.”

Dr. Phil Zeltzman is a traveling veterinary surgeon in Pennsylvania & New Jersey. An award-winning author, he loves to share his adventures in practice along with information about vet medicine and surgery that can really help your pets. Dr. Zeltzman specializes in orthopedic, neurologic, cancer, and soft tissue surgeries for dogs, cats, and small exotics. By working with local family vets, he offers the best surgical care, safest anesthesia, and utmost pain management to all his patients. Sign up to get an email when he updates his blog, and follow him on Facebook, too!