Dog Megaoesophagus Symptoms and Treatments

The oesophagus uses peristaltic movement to propel food down from the mouth into the stomach. Peristalsis is a wave of involuntary muscle that constricts behind a bolus of food and pushes it down, and the trachea is protected at the top by a flap which closes it off whilst swallowing or vocalizing.

In this condition, the neurological responses to food being in the oesophagus have failed and food now no longer travels down as efficiently as before; the muscle tone has gone and so the oesophagus now enlarges and becomes very flaccid with little to no control over food flow.

Diagnosis is confirmed by both the following symptoms: vomiting because of the stomach's force in pushing food up against a lack of resistance, and regurgitation, where the food in the stomach just slides out of the stomach up the oesophagus and cannot be swallowed. A veterinary surgeon can perform diagnostic tests such as a barium meal, which uses radio-opaque barium to show the outline of the oesophagus on X-ray, and will also do blood tests to identify any diseases present which may be causing nerve damage.

The condition can either be congenital or there may be no identified cause at all in which case it is termed idiopathic. A third cause is nerve damage caused by current disease or by incomplete nerve generation during foetal development.

If the cause of the condition cannot be identified and treated, all that can be done is to help the dog keep food in his stomach. This would involve postural training so that he does not bend his head down and allow food to slide out of the stomach, and keeping him standing with his head up for a while to allow digestion to get under way. Occasionally a gastric tube can be inserted into the stomach so as to allow feeding.

Unfortunately the prognosis for dogs with this condition is poor unless he has constant attention and supervision to help him keep his food down. Dogs may end up choking on their food or it may come up the oesophagus and block the airway so that he suffocates. There is no surgical remedy.

Next article: Dog Pseudocyesis – False Pregnancy Symptoms and Treatments