Gastric Dilatation And Volvulus (GDV): What Causes It?

Gastric dilatation and volvulus (GDV) is a life-threatening emergency condition that affects predominantly deep-chested large breed dogs.

Gastric dila-what?

You’re probably more familiar with the term bloat. And if you don’t know that one either, and own a large, deep-chested breed, you better do your homework quick.

Gastric Dilatation And Volvulus (GDV): What Causes It?

Introduction

Gastric dilatation and volvulus is as deadly as cancer, except it kills way faster. So What is it?

gastric [gas-tric]; from Greek gaster – stomach
dilate [dahy-leyt]; from Latin dīlātāre – expand, stretch beyond normal dimensions
volvulus [vol-vyuh-luhs]; from Latin volvere – turn, twist

The problem is two-fold

The dilation bit means that excessive fluid or gas causes the stomach to expand/distend beyond its normal size. This is very painful, but it is not the worst of the problem.

The real trouble comes when the distended stomach flips around, also known as torsion. Now all exits are blocked, and everything becomes trapped while the stomach continues to expand. As if that wasn’t bad enough, blood circulation to the stomach also becomes impaired, which leads to a whole other set of problems.

Gastric Dilatation And Volvulus (GDV): Gastric Torsion Stages — Stages of gastric torsion. Image VIN, illustration by Tamara Rees
Source the pet hospitals

This paints a picture that is as horrifying as it is painful and deadly.

The only way out of this mess is an immediate surgery, which may or may not save your dog’s life. GDV is a number two killer right after cancer.

That’s why understanding the risk factors and prevention are extremely important.

Preventing GDV

How can we prevent this from happening to our dogs? And there lies another problem. There are only a few risk factors that are well understood.

The School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania conducted an internet-based, cross-sectional study in the attempt to shed some light on the matter. The study included 2,551 privately owned dogs.

Unfortunately, the study didn’t bring much-needed clarity at all.

Study results

Here are the factors significantly associated with an increased risk of GDV from the study results:

being fed dry kibble
anxiety
residence in the United Kingdom
being born in the 1990s
being a family pet, and spending at least 5 hours a day with the owner

Factors associated with a decreased risk of GDV were:

playing with other dogs and running the fence after meals
fish and egg dietary supplements
and spending equal time indoors and outdoors.

Now, wrap your brain around that. One interesting bit is that sexually intact females have the highest risk for GDV.

Aside from the above study and its confusing results, the commonly accepted risk factors include:

genetic factors
breed anatomy
sex (male dogs are more susceptible)
age
feeding one or two large meal a day
gulping down food
moistening of dry foods
restricting water intake before and after meals
stress
exercising shortly after a meal
certain foods

Theories or facts?

We ought to accept that we don’t know what causes bloat. It is likely a combination of genetics, environment, care, and bad luck. Anatomy is the most widely accepted risk factor.

In dogs with deeper abdomens, the stretching of the gastric ligaments over time may allow the stomach to descend relative to the esophagus, thus increasing the gastroesophageal angle, and this may promote bloat.
Dr. Lawrence Glickman, VMD, DrPH

However, small breeds can suffer from GDV too. Age and stress are also involved.

What preventive steps I take

So what do we do to prevent GDV in our guys? Apart from feeding multiple smaller meals, pray, mostly … All kidding aside, here are things I do:

multiple smaller meals
raw species-appropriate diet
hand-feeding to control how fast my dog eats
feed after, not before exercise
keeping stress to minimum

Something I might consider in the future would be preventative gastropexy. It’s a procedure that can be done while a dog is in for a spay or neuter, and it involves surgically securing the stomach to the abdominal wall. Then, even if it does dilate, it’s not going anywhere.

Further information: Dog Bloat: Causes, Signs, and Symptoms

Prophylactic gastropexy

Gastropexy is a surgical procedure that can prevent stomach torsion in susceptible breeds. These days, it is performed on dogs who already developed GDV. If you have a breed that is a high risk for this condition, your veterinarian might recommend it as a preventive procedure. Preventively, gastropexy can be performed during routine spay or neuter.

During gastropexy, the surgeon tack the stomach to the right side of the body wall to secure it in place to prevent it from twisting.

There are several potential surgical techniques, including laparoscopy or endoscopy, which ar least invasive.