Pneumoperitoneum

A cat came in today with trouble breathing.  The cat was immediately placed into an oxygen tank, however that did not seem to work.  An ultrasound was completed and it was confirmed that there was air in the abdomen.  This condition is called Pneumoperitoneum.

Pneumoperitoneum is defined as air or gas in the abdominal cavity.  When there is air in the abdominal cavity, it pushes against the lungs, making it difficult for the lungs to expand with each breath of air.  If enough air gets into the abdominal cavity, the patient could suffocate.

To help this cat, we used an ultrasound to find pockets of air in the abdomen.  The doctor inserted a butterfly needle into the pocket of air and a nurse on the other end of the butterfly would pull on the syringe to see if air would come out.  The trick with this procedure though is to release when you feel negative pressure on the needle.  You can't pull against something that is not there.  Once you hit that negative pressure, the doctor will move the needle to a new air pocket.

This procedure is only temporary.  Somehow, the air got into the abdomen and taking it out won't solve the overall problem.  It was believed that there was a hole in the cat's lung; when the cat took a breath, a little bit of air was able to escape from the hole and into the abdomen.  It was determined that the hole was too big to be repaired on its own.  Instead, the cat was scheduled for a lobectomy to remove the lung lobe with the hole in it.  Removing the lobe with the hole will hopefully help the cat's breathing. 

Because of the severity of the pneumoperitoneum, the cat did not make it to surgery.  Air was filling the abdomen quicker than we could remove it, making each breath extremely difficult and painful.  The cat was euthanized