Retained artery forceps causing acute intestinal strangulation two years following abdominal surgery in a dog

A 10-year old male entire Labradoodle presented with a history of acute onset vomiting, lethargy and collapse, 2 years following an emergency splenectomy and gastropexy procedure performed at a separate veterinary practice. Survey abdominal radiographs revealed metal opacity intra-abdominal foreign bodies, suspected to be a pair of artery forceps. An exploratory laparotomy was performed when the patient was stable for general anaesthesia. The majority of the small intestines had herniated through the thumb handle of the retained forceps, resulting in strangulation of duodenum and jejunum and severe diffuse ischaemic damage. Given the large section of the non-viable small intestine and the poor prognosis for a full recovery, the owners opted to euthanise the dog whilst under general anaesthesia. This report describes an unusual case of intestinal strangulation through a retained surgical instrument in a dog and discusses the benefits of incorporating readily available surgical safety checklists for all surgical procedures.