Colorado State University veterinary team is conducting a clinical study to find out about how the stomach functions in big dogs after laparoscopic gastropexy.

Gastropexy is a surgery performed in big dogs to prevent bloating, in which the stomach flips over and expands, causing dog go into shock and die. The surgery attaches the stomach to the abdominal wall, preventing twisting of the stomach.

Big dogs are being recruited for the study. The dogs will undergo a special diet for 5 weeks before the surgery and continue the same diet for 5 weeks after the surgery. The purpose of this is to see how the gastrointestinal tract works after the surgery. With that, veterinarians will have a better idea about dietary and other post-surgery needs.

To evaluate the stomach functions, researchers will use SmartPill, an ingestible capsule, which sends information to computers about pressure, pH, and temperature in the dog’s digestive system. This will give researchers an idea about how food digests through the stomach and intestines in dogs after the surgery.

Gastropexy has been proven safe and minimally invasive.