Darcey is a lovely 10year old Bedlington Terrier. Her owner brought her into see us after they saw her swallow a fishing hook whilst out fishing. On presentation the line was visible hanging from her mouth. Our Vet Abi examined her and could not see the hook visible in her mouth or under her tongue, therefore a general anaesthetic was recommended to examine further.
Once asleep our Vets could see that the fishing line was visible travelling all the way down into Darcey’s oesophagus. Radiographs were performed revealing the fish hook at the level with her diaphragm. An endoscope was then passed to determine the exact location, this revealed that the hook was embedded at the lower entry to the oesophagus.
Removal would have to be performed with great caution so as not to tear or damage the oesophageal lining. Vets Tim and Abi used the endoscope as a guide alongside forceps and managed to unhook the hook and push it into the stomach, the hook was then retracted into a tube to prevent it re-attaching and was extracted out of Darcey’s oesophagus! This was a real success story and on retraction of the endoscope no visible damage was noted. We are pleased to report Darcey is now doing very well!
