Diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonographic evaluation prior to laparoscopic-assisted gastrointestinal foreign body removal in 30 dogs
🔍 Key Findings
- Abdominal ultrasonography accurately identified foreign body type (96.8%) and shape (93.5%), demonstrating strong diagnostic agreement with surgical findings.
- Localization accuracy for foreign bodies was lower (77.4%), indicating moderate reliability for determining exact GI segment involvement.
- Ultrasound consistently underestimated foreign body size, meaning surgical planning should account for potential larger true dimensions.
- Overall success of laparoscopic-assisted intestinal surgery (LAIS) was 53.3% (16/30 dogs), with the remainder requiring conversion to open laparotomy.
- Non-linear foreign bodies were more successfully removed laparoscopically (60.9%) than linear foreign bodies (28.6%).
- Foreign bodies located at the caudal duodenal flexure were not successfully removed via LAIS (0%), representing a key anatomic limitation.
- Ultrasound detected intestinal adhesions with ~80% accuracy, although sensitivity was lower (66.7%), meaning some adhesions were missed preoperatively.
- Foreign body location and presence of adhesions were the most important predictors of LAIS success, making preoperative ultrasound valuable for surgical decision-making.
Simini Surgery Review Podcast
🔍 Key Findings
- Abdominal ultrasonography accurately identified foreign body type (96.8%) and shape (93.5%), demonstrating strong diagnostic agreement with surgical findings.
- Localization accuracy for foreign bodies was lower (77.4%), indicating moderate reliability for determining exact GI segment involvement.
- Ultrasound consistently underestimated foreign body size, meaning surgical planning should account for potential larger true dimensions.
- Overall success of laparoscopic-assisted intestinal surgery (LAIS) was 53.3% (16/30 dogs), with the remainder requiring conversion to open laparotomy.
- Non-linear foreign bodies were more successfully removed laparoscopically (60.9%) than linear foreign bodies (28.6%).
- Foreign bodies located at the caudal duodenal flexure were not successfully removed via LAIS (0%), representing a key anatomic limitation.
- Ultrasound detected intestinal adhesions with ~80% accuracy, although sensitivity was lower (66.7%), meaning some adhesions were missed preoperatively.
- Foreign body location and presence of adhesions were the most important predictors of LAIS success, making preoperative ultrasound valuable for surgical decision-making.
Simini Surgery Review Podcast
Know What Matters in the Literature - and Why
We distill peer-reviewed surgical studies into clinically relevant summaries and
exam-style questions, so you can make informed decisions with confidence.
Free Access. No Spam. Just Smarter Surgical Learning
Multiple Choice Questions on this study
Access the full library of surgical summaries and exam-style questions.

