Gorilla Glue

Recently this topic came up again here at the FVARC so I thought it would be a great time to share this article that was published in a past newsletter.  Enjoy

Gorilla Glue^®: A Sticky, Time-Sensitive Emergency

Recently Dr. Dale Weihing treated “Annie,” a two year old female spayed Springer spaniel who ingested a mall amount of Gorilla Glue^®. The owners contacted poison control who recommended she be evaluated by a veterinarian immediately.

On physical exam, Annie had a large, firm palpable mass in her cranial abdomen. Abdominal distention was present. No vomiting was reported. Radiographs revealed a distended stomach with an organized, mottled soft tissue-and-gas opacity foreign body in the gastric lumen.

Emergency surgery was recommended and approved. A large gastrotomy was performed to remove the foreign body, and Annie recovered uneventfully.

Certain polyurethane wood glues such as Gorilla Glue^® and Elmers Probond^® contain diphenylmethane diisocyanate as the active ingredient. This hygroscopic substance reacts with water and expands to 3–4 times its original volume when ingested, creating a firm, non-digestible foreign body that can cause esophageal or gastric obstructions.

These products go through an exothermic “curing” process which helps set the glue. When diisocyanate comes into contact with warm acidic liquid (i.e. gastric acid), a hazardous polymerization reaction occurs— producing heat, CO₂, and urea. The compound swells up (absorbing liquid from the stomach) and forms a foam-like mass. Formation of the foreign body is thought to be within minutes of ingestion.

Dogs that lick very small amounts of product or eat paper towels with fresh glue on them may not have foreign bodies, but can have mild, transient GI signs. Clinical signs of liquid glue ingestion include vomiting, hematemesis, and abdominal distention and pain. Physical exam and plain radiographs often reveal a firm mass in the cranial abdomen.

The current treatment recommendation is to retrieve the foreign body via gastrotomy. Smaller foreign bodies have been removed via enterotomy or monitored for passage through the GI tract. The glue does not stick to gastrointestinal mucosa. Anecdotal reports of attempts to “push” the glue through the GI tract by bulking the diet have not been successful; in most cases the food or bulking agent becomes trapped in the “glue-bezoar” rather than pushing the foreign body through. Additionally, attempts at rapidly “diluting” the glue with liquids or food to prevent expansion and foreign body formation have not worked. Inducing emesis is not recommended due to the risks of esophageal obstruction and aspiration into the lungs.

The prognosis for Gorilla Glue^® ingestion is good with prompt surgical intervention. Left untreated, esophageal and gastric ulceration or rupture is possible.

Coleman, D: Stomach Cast After Ingestion of Gorilla Glue (from VIN) 2/9/06. Richardson, J, Rishniw, M: Gorilla Glue: Medical FAQs (from VIN). Shell, L: Gorilla Glue (from VIN) 2/10/06. D. Weihing, DVM (personal communication, 11/10/06). Wismer, T: Hot Topics in Clinical Toxicology (from VIN) per: Proceedings, IVECCS2004.