Haemoabdomen

Haemoabdomen means there is free fluid in a dog’s abdominal cavity. The most common cause is a ruptured spleen secondary to a tumour, but other causes include trauma, following surgery, a problem with blood clotting or liver/splenic torsion.

The dog will present with a swollen uncomfortable stomach and a diagnosis of haemoabdomen can be made by a procedure called abdominocentesis, where a needle is introduced into the abdomen and fluid withdrawn (most dogs tolerate this very well without needing sedation). Once haemoabdomen has been confirmed, an x-ray or ultrasound to assess the spleen and liver can determine whether there is a torsion (very rare) or tumour (much more likely).

It is not easy to determine whether a tumour is benign or malignant without doing histology so most animals will undergo an emergency operation to remove the spleen (splenectomy). Prior to this, dogs will need to be stabilised with intravenous fluids and possibly a blood transfusion.

In the case of malignant tumours, dogs will generally recover very well from surgery and enjoy 2-3 months of really good health, but will then suddenly deteriorate, we would usually advise euthanasia at this time. With a benign splenic tumour surgery is curative.

If the ultrasound identifies a splenic torsion, then again, an emergency splenectomy is advised once the patient is stabilised.

Haemoabdomen following surgery will depend on the severity. If it is rapid and severe it could indicate that a suture on a major blood vessel has slipped - in this case opening up the wound would be indicated. If it was less severe and more gradual it may just be oozing from smaller blood vessels in the abdominal fat and close observation maybe all that is required.

Haemoabdomen following trauma (such as a road traffic accident) needs to be managed in a similar way. In severe cases ultrasound could be used to identify the source of blood loss (e.g. traumatic ruptured spleen) and then surgery performed once the patient is stabilised. In less severe cases it may be adequate to just monitor the dog as the bleeding may just be due to internal bruising.