Study compares barbed and standard gastropexy in dogs with GDV
CURRENT BRIEF VERSION: A new Veterinary Surgery study from Cornell University compared open right-sided barbed suture gastropexy with standard right-sided incisional gastropexy in 121 dogs treated surgically for gastric dilatation-volvulus, including 58 dogs in the barbed suture group and 63 in the standard group. The retrospective cohort study found that barbed suture gastropexy was associated with shorter surgical times, while perioperative complications, long-term recurrence, and persistent gastrointestinal signs were similar between groups. The paper was published in February 2026 after online release in October 2025. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Why it matters: For veterinary surgeons and emergency teams, the takeaway is practical: a barbed suture approach may offer time savings in a high-acuity GDV setting without an obvious tradeoff in short-term outcomes or recurrence, based on this single-center retrospective dataset. That matters because GDV cases often require rapid stabilization, abdominal exploration, possible splenectomy or partial gastrectomy, and careful postoperative monitoring, with outcomes worsening as disease severity and treatment delay increase. More broadly, the finding fits with prior literature showing that, across soft tissue surgery, technique choice often comes down to balancing efficiency with durable outcomes when comparative evidence is limited. Recent reviews in other areas have reached similarly cautious conclusions—for example, a Veterinary Evidence summary found weak evidence to favor either Gambee or simple interrupted closure after canine enterotomy, leaving the choice largely to surgeon preference, while a separate Veterinary Surgery study in Thoroughbred broodmares found no reproductive disadvantage after large colon resection versus colopexy, suggesting postoperative function may be comparable across different preventive strategies in some settings. (acvs.org)
What to watch: Whether other centers replicate the result, and whether prospective studies clarify where barbed suture gastropexy fits among established open and minimally invasive gastropexy options. Related work in other procedures also points to the value of better prognostic markers and standardized follow-up—for example, a recent Veterinary Journal study in dogs with perineal hernia linked persistent postoperative rectal dilatation and rectal wall fibrosis with recurrence and incomplete resolution of signs. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)