Forty three dogs with non-neoplastic canine gastric and/or duodenal ulcers were diagnosed at the University of Tennessee Veterinary Teaching Hospital (UTVTH) and reviewed in conjunction with dogs reported in the literature. No age, sex, or breed predilection was found. Most of the 43 UTVTH dogs presented with clinical signs referable to gastrointestinal disease, but evidence of hemorrhage was not always present. Nonregenerative anemia was a common (33/43 dogs) finding. Diagnosis of ulcer disease was made by contrast radiography, with clinical evidence of gastrointestinal hemorrhage, or surgery, endoscopy, or necropsy. Treatment with nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and hepatic disease were the two most common predisposing factors for ulcer disease. Dogs with liver disease tended to have duodenal ulcers, dogs receiving NSAID treatment tended to have pyloroantral ulcers, and dogs with mastocytosis had ulcers in multiple locations. Three dogs with duodenal ulcers receiving NSAID treatment had an additional predisposing factor. Surgical treatment (with or without medical treatment) had a good outcome when the predisposing factors could be controlled or eliminated. Only 3 of 27 dogs in both the surgical and medically treated groups died from ulcer disease, whereas 6 of 16 dogs in the untreated group died from ulcer disease.

A Y-U pyloroplasty was performed on five healthy adult dogs. Gastric emptying half times (t1/2 GE) of a canned food meal were measured by scintigraphy three times before surgery and three times from 6 to 8 weeks after surgery. Fluoroscopic studies of gastric and duodenal motility were made before surgery and 3, 7, and 35 days after surgery. Clinical observations were made daily throughout the study. Gross and histologic evaluations of the gastroesophageal and pyloric regions were performed at the termination of the study. The t1/2 GE was significantly decreased after surgery. By positive contrast fluoroscopy, the vigor of antral contractions was seen to be decreased in three of the five dogs. On days 7 and 35, fluoroscopic findings were comparable to preoperative studies. Duodenogastric reflux was recognized fluoroscopically in three dogs on four different occasions. This may reflect normal reflux patterns in the dog. No gastrointestinal problems were evident after surgery in four dogs. Reflux esophagitis developed in one dog after surgery, which resolved with therapy. Studies of the Y-U pyloroplasty after 2 months indicated that it decreased gastric emptying time of solid food. Results of postmortem examination showed no abnormal gross or histopathologic changes of esophageal, gastric, or proximal duodenal tissues.

No abstract