Ginger - Foreign Body Removal

Ginger presented with a history of vomiting. The owners suspected that Ginger had eaten a large quantity of Q-tips. An x-ray confirmed the owner's suspicions! 

The red circle demonstrates the enlarged stomach full of Q-tips.

Given the large quantity of Q-tips, we elected for surgical removal versus retrieval via endoscopy. After Ginger was placed under general anesthesia, clipped, and scrubbed, an incision was made in the ventral abdomen.

The stomach (blue arrow) was exposed and packed off from the rest of the abdomen. An incision was made in the stomach (green arrow) and the Q-tips were removed.

An estimated 200 Q-tips were removed from the stomach. Ginger recovered well and is doing fine! She continues to try to get into the trash on a regular basis!

Special thanks to Ginger's owners for allowing us to share this case.