Recovery and Management of Edema in Dogs Many cases of edema will require hospital stays. Edema caused by inflammation is often the quickest and simplest to resolve, and can often be done while your pet is at home. Edema caused by organ failure or that affects the nervous system, however, can require multiple-day hospital stays. Almost all cases of edema will require care and medications at home after the office visit, while others—such as edema from heart failure—will likely require lifelong treatment. Any edema in dogs—other than that which affects a small area of the body, such as a single leg or ear—is usually considered serious, requiring thorough investigation and aggressive treatment. Once the underlying cause is found, however, it often becomes easier to develop an appropriate treatment plan. Featured Image: Adobe/Chlorophylle,WRITTEN BYSandra C. Mitchell, DVM, DABVP Veterinarian Sandra Mitchell is a 1995 graduate of the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine. Since graduation, she has worked in many fields…,What Is Edema in Dogs? Edema is commonly thought of as swelling, but it’s actually more complicated than that. Edema is the accumulation of abnormally large amounts of fluids in the tissues between the body’s cells—and when this fluid accumulates, swelling is the visual result. This swelling occurs either because too much fluid moves from the blood vessels into the tissues or because not enough fluid moves from the tissues back into the blood vessels. Both scenarios result in a fluid imbalance. Edema also commonly occurs as a side effect of significant disease such as heart failure, kidney disease, liver disease, or malnutrition. Simple swelling is also an abnormal fluid accumulation and imbalance. But traditionally, we think of swelling as caused by inflammation, such as from an injury, trauma, or tumor. Edema and swelling are often terms used interchangeably, and edema does cause swelling—but with edema, significant diseases are often involved.
