MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY OF SMALL AND LARGE INTESTINAL SURGERY IN DOGSAND CATS - 74 CASES (1980-1992)

Hospital records of 74 dogs and cats undergoing intestinal surgery wer e studied to compare the mortality rates of small versus large intesti nal surgery and to identify factors affecting morbidity and mortality. There was no difference in mortality rates for animals undergoing sma ll (n=52) or large (n=22) intestinal surgery. The overall mortality ra te for intestinal surgery was 12%. Animals undergoing large intestinal surgery had a more prolonged length of surgery and were in the hospit al longer than animals undergoing small intestinal surgery. There was no difference in the prevalence of intestinal dehiscence for animals u ndergoing small or large intestinal surgery, with an overall dehiscenc e rate of 7%. Survival was affected by the number of surgical procedur es performed; animals undergoing more than one procedure were less lik ely to survive. Both intestinal dehiscence and septic peritonitis were associated with decreased survival regardless of intestinal segment i nvolved.