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PANCREATITIS

What is Pancreatitis?

Pancreatitis means inflammation of the pancreas gland. The pancreas is a special organ that makes many different chemicals such as insulin, acids and alkalis which help digest and process foods. When a normal animal smells or swallows food, signals are sent to the pancreas telling it to start making these chemicals in preparation for the meal "on the way down"

These chemicals travel down a special tube into the first part of the small intestines called the Duodenum which originates form the stomach. Food on its way out of the stomach meets the chemicals and digestion gets under way.

Sometimes as pets get older and fatter, the pancreas gets inflamed or worn out from too much of a workload e.g. too many fatty meals. This small amount of inflammation results in leakage of acids and alkalis both inside and adjacent to the pancreas. Needless to say, these chemicals are very caustic. Further damage occurs to adjacent organs e.g. liver, intestines and more of the pancreas is digested by its very own chemicals. More damage to the pancreas means more leakage and it does not take long for massive inflammation and tissue destruction to occur.

Normal Pancreas	Inflamed Pancreas

Which pets are affected?

We normally see pancreatitis in older overweight dogs or dogs being fed too many fatty meals e.g. lamb chops, marrow bones, dairy products. Some older dogs can developed pancreatic cancer which looks just the same as normal pancreatitis.

What are the signs?

Affected dogs are suddenly extremely ill. They vomit just about anything they eat or drink. There is a lot of inflammation and pain in the abdomen. Dehydration and shock quickly follow making the dog thirsty, however each time it drinks, more leakage of the acids and alkalis occurs. Acute secondary kidney failure can occur due to the large amount of fluid loss causing thickening of the blood and decreased blood flow to vital organs.

What is the Treatment?

The main treatment is absolutely nothing by mouth for 3-5 days. Even the smell of food can trigger of further release of leaking acids and alkalis. Dogs must go onto an IV drip to correct dehydration and reverse shock and damage to the kidneys. The vet may decide to give anti-vomiting drugs and pain killers. Blood tests need to be done to diagnose and monitor response to treatment. There are some specific blood tests that show up pancreatitis: elevated Lipase and/or Amylase and the presence of fatty serum. By repeating these tests, the vet can tell how the dog is going.

Severe cases may need surgery to rule out pancreatic cancer or to flush the general area to try and settle the inflammation down.

Treatment can be quite costly due to the length of stay in hospital with intensive care, drugs, repeat blood tests and fluid therapy.

Can episodes be prevented?

Normal dogs should not receive excessive amounts of fat in their diet. Make the majority of the diet a balanced dry dog food e.g. Hills Science Diets. feed raw bones 2-3 ties a week but try to avoid excessive marrow consumption e.g. ask the butcher to cut the large bines length ways so you can remove the marrow.

It is vital that repeat episodes are avoided as too much damage to the pancreas can result in lack of insulin (Diabetes) or the inability to digest and absorb foods (Pancreatic Exocrine Insufficiency).