Diaphragmatic hernia. Note loops of bowel (gas density) overlapping lung fields. Image from Merckvetmanual.com.
I’m posting a link to an article about diaphragmatic hernias in dogs by Dr. Jennifer Coates for petMD because our dog Miguel had one and would have died if our vet hadn’t diagnosed it.
Miguel was a street dog in San Miguel de Allende when we met him in Mexico in 2006.
A month after we brought him to Seattle he started having trouble breathing after any sort of physical activity, began coughing more, and eventually, started to vomit regularly.
When we took him to the vet, she couldn’t find anything that might have caused the symptoms. She took some blood and a stool sample to see if they might provide a clue about the problem.
Then, almost as an afterthought, she decided to take an x-ray of his chest to see if he had any problem with his lungs.
Almost 10 years after his surgery to fix a diaphragmatic hernia, Miguel is still going strong.
The x-ray showed he had a diaphragmatic hernia. Some sort of trauma – probably being hit by a car or kicked in the chest – had ruptured his diaphram, and his intestines had been pushed through the hole and almost completely filled one of his lungs.
The surgical specialist that our vet recommended said the chances that Miguel would survive the surgery to pull his intestines from his lung and fix the hernia were only about 50/50, but if we did nothing he would eventually die, so of course we did the surgery. (The survival rate for this surgery was low because of the location of the hernia. Not all surgeries for diaphragmatic hernias have a low survival rate).
Fortunately, Miguel survived the surgery with no problem. The vet said he would probably have to stay in the hospital a few days after surgery, but after only one day he was spunky enough to come home with a foot-long incision from the base of his neck to the middle of his stomach.
He eventually made a complete recovery, and almost 10 years later he’s still going strong.
Please read this article to get a better understanding of diaphragmatic hernias – it may save your dog’s life:
Don’t Overlook the Possibility of a Diaphragmatic Hernia
by Dr. Jennifer Coates
I know this post Several years old, but people should be aware of this condition. I called 3 animal exsperts the night our Bryan had this happen all 3 said wait he just need to get something up from his stomach. Boy were they wrong! I had the same experience, I found a pup in the Dominican republic , i was on the beach & as the wind blew I noticed this pup fall from the force of the wind, as I ran to see if he was ok I noticed this dog was very sick, long story he was diagnosed with distemper fortunately with Medical care & I had someone take care of him and he survived that disease. I flew him to America I had him for one month , one night he started coughing and dry heaving I thought he was choking on a bone I checked is his airway, nothing ! within a few minutes he was in respiratory distress . I rushed him to an emergency veterinarian and all his intestines and everything from his stomach went into his chest wall it was suffocating him . I had two choices put him down or surgery . The cost in NJ is astronomical , I took one look at him and said do the surgery . I took the money out of my sons college , I had no other resources , little does my son know! I saved the money for my son & I will work more hours until I replace every dime. Most would’ve put him down. Btw I told my husband the cost was a quarter of the actual price & he went into a fit!! I could not believe what I was seeing in the x-ray his whole stomach ,intestines and all ripped from his diaphragm and went in his chest , his liver was twisted his lungs were being squeezed by his intestines I never knew this could even happen . The emergency I took him happened to be the most expensive & when all was done, the cost was 11.000$ Bryan was one of the worst cases they’ve ever seen. Dr. Hunt was excellent & Too be commended for the surgery he performed on Bryan. Like Miguel, Bryan was hit very hard as a pup, it could take months before the Diaphragm rip’s and fully goes into the chest. Unlike your vet, mine didn’t catch it 2 weeks prior, I told him his breathing was off, he dismissed me. I could have paid less but Bryan was not in any condition to be transferred. Bryan is 5 day post op & doing well. I hope he is as lucky as Miguel & makes a full recovery. Also we were going to change his name to Lucky , but decided Cha Ching was more appropriate lol. I can only pray Cha Ching lives a Happy Healthy life as Miguel has.
I’m glad he’s doing well now! Thank you for saving him. Miguel is going to be 13 this year and is still going strong!
Hey Guys,
I have read both your stories. The chance of survival seems low. We have a Shiba Inu that we got as a baby. He is 3 years old this year. This weekend he got hit with by a car. Doctors want to do surgery. Money is not the issue im just thinking the chance of survival is it better to just let him live the remainder. I am kinda broken right now any words of advice would be great.
Did you ever do the surgery on your sheba Inu?