Technically called gastric dilatation, bloat is a condition in which a huge amount of gas accumulates and is retained in the stomach. Bloat is uncomfortable, but the reason it puts fear into the hearts of veterinarians is the danger that the stomach may suddenly twist. Gastric dilatation, sans volvulus, is treated by releasing the gas via a stomach tube, but if the stomach is twisted, the tube won’t pass. When Arty’s mom said "bloat," she really got my attention, but in my 25 years of experience, bloat had always occurred as one big, bad, crisis (usually in the middle of the night), not as a mild, recurrent, after-dinner discomfiture. read more

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