Bonnie is a spunky, 8 month old Bernese Mountain Dog/ Poodle mix. She presented to our clinic after her mom found her chewing on a quilt that potentially had a needle in it. After vomiting once overnight, and then again the next day, Bonnie’s mom became worried that she may have ingested part of the quilt and/or a needle. Bonnie was initially evaluated by Dr. Kerri Recipko. Her mom stated that other than the vomiting, she was acting like her normal self! She was playing and eating like a normal puppy. The only abnormality Dr. Recipko found on exam was that she was a little dehydrated. Because there was a chance Bonnie had eaten something she shouldn’t have, the next step was an x-ray. Did Bonnie ingest the quilt and or a needle? Dr. Recipko and team took 2 x-ray views and Bonnie was found to have a needle in her stomach penetrating the wall near the outlet portion of the stomach. Many veterinary hospitals would resort to an immediate abdominal surgery to remove the needle. But here at Silver Maple Veterinary Clinic, we had the endoscopic option! Bonnie’s case was transferred to Dr. Sam Yoder, owner and veterinarian at Silver Maple Veterinary Clinic. Dr. Yoder was able to introduce an endoscope into Bonnie’s stomach and immediately visualize and grab the needle stuck in her stomach wall and remove this dangerous hazard without surgically opening up her abdomen and stomach. Bonnie recovered uneventfully and is doing well! Silver Maple has multiple endoscopes that allow our clinic to pursue many options beyond surgery for diagnosis and treatment.
