Complications during spay

[Itims]

Biba had her spay surgery today. The doctor just called me and told me the following things:

1. her uterus and ovaries were 1/4 or 1/5 of the usual size expected in a 6 month puppy 

2. they were also more pushed back (towards the tail) than usual

3. her spleen had a tear 

4. her intestines looked thickened but otherwise normal (spasming and good blood flow)

5. they want to monitor her tonight at the hospital to monitor the spleen / make sure there is no internal bleeding. She will be free to go home tomorrow if the night passes without incident.

Spleen tear:

The vet said that EITHER the spleen tear could be because something bad that she ate could have protruded out of her intestines and poked the spleen OR her recent GI issues could have caused some inflammation that results in organs to be 'sticky'. The vet might have caused the tear as spleen was sticking to the other organs and with the small ovaries/uterus, it required more looking and manual movement of internal organs. The vet said there was no way to be sure. My husband thinks it has to be something that happened during surgery since a dog with a tear in her spleen couldn't be running and playing and eating happily like she has been doing. There has been no blood in her stool. Since she started eating the Iams (see 'other background' below) about 3 or 4 weeks ago, her stool has been very consistently dark to medium greenish-brown but very well formed. He wants to question her more thoroughly to understand what happened. I don't know what fighting with the vet or assigning blame will achieve for Biba. He wants to change vets since she seemed antibiotics-happy during the diarrhea issue, didn't give us a confirmed diagnosis on the diarrhea issue and prescribes Iams as a good food for dogs with GI issues.

Other background:

Biba had an non-painful but large umbilical hernia, vaginitis and has had GI issues (consistently soft stool or diarrhea for about 4 weeks or so). The diarrhea could have been due to a mix of eating something bad and the effect of antibiotics. We never found out but the poop improved almost immediately after we moved her from boiled chicken and rice to Iams Low Residue + probiotics. Prior to the diarrhea, her poop was average to bad on Taste of the Wild. The doc had suggested an intestinal biopsy during the spay but since her poop had been good over the last 2 weeks, I declined the biopsy. 

I'm going to go and pick her up from the clinic and take her to the hospital in a few hours. Does anyone have any questions that I should ask or similar experience or ideas? I'm trying to not think too much about it other than trying to research and read about these issues but keeping having unpleasant and negative thoughts.

Thank you for any suggestions, questions and prayers.

UPDATE AS OF FRIDAY PM:

We got her back from the hospital. She seems good, very happy to see us, not groggy at all though shes on a sedative called Tramadol. I have to add in the Rimadyl which helps with pain and inflammation. The Tramadol is to be given on as needed basis. The hospital asked us to feed her 3-4 smaller meals and about half the usual food (2 cups of chicken and rice for the day). The hospital doc said probiotics are OK. 

We need to watch for lethargy (that will be confusing since she will be on pain meds), vomiting, diarrhea, pale gums. We have to keep her totally calm and inactive for the next 2 weeks. Luckily, we will have a quiet week with July 4 and my SIL is coming on Tuesday and will be staying with us for a month so someone will always be at home to watch her.

The hospital surgeon was backing up the whole sticky organ ("adhesion") theory. He did say that its very rare and has happened to him before too..Our usual vet talked to the hospital a couple of times since yesterday and asked me to give her an update tomorrow. 

Also, is there any thing I can do to make the skin around the sutures more comfortable so she doesn't have the urge to lick them?

[Itims]

Good luck and wishes for Luigi. I hope he is doing well and recovering nicely. 

[Bonnie and Kona]

Praying for you and for Biba. This sounds so scary. Please keep us all updated. 

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Praying for you and that Biba will make a full recovery,  So sorry this happened.

[BG and Gavin]

Keeping a good thought for Biba.  Even to a know-nothing like me, the spleen tear scenario makes no sense at all.  I would not have confidence in this vet for future care.  Sorry you are going through this.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

I'm so sorry, you must be beside yourself with worry. I recall my son, who is a surgeon, talking about something similar to what F said - and the difficulties a surgeon faces when the organs are sticky. So I'd listen to F's wise advice. Prayers and hugs for you and Biba. Please keep us posted.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Hoping for some better news this morning....any update?

[Janie, Jackson and Jilly]

Hoping for good news too...

[Sheila & Finnley]

Sending you our very best thoughts, and good wishes for Biba's speedy recovery.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

I am sending my wishes for full recovery and hoping she is better this morning.  

[Itims]

We took her to the hospital yesterday. When we talked to the vet in person, she stuck to the sticky organ theory and implicitly accepted that this happened during surgery.

Biba's red blood cell count (which checks for bleeding) was 30% post op yday and 37% in the evening. It was 36% this morning. Her gums are pink, and circulation is normal when they press her gums. Her Pulse and breathing is normal. She was fed at midnight and vomited 2X
around then. That's worrying, I don't know if the vomiting would have made the spleen worse. When we took her at the clinic, she was very sleepy but wagging her tail for us and trying to go to the other dogs in the waiting room.

The hospital is saying that we can take her back whenever we like and I'm thinking of bringing her home after 1pm (24 hours + after surgery). Though to me the vomiting is serious issue, why would they not ask to observe her longer?

I hope by 1 or 2pm, she has eaten more and (hopefully) kept it down. We have painpills and need to keep her inactive for 10-14 days (no jumping, no walks, no stairs). I had started giving her 1/8 Acana singles (without problem) but will hold the
transition now.

I left messages at another vet about my questions and am waiting to hear. Will ask the hospital vet when I pick her up.

I found out that Biba's mom/dad pair have puppies that will be available on September. So I probably need to tell her breeder about the small reproductive organs. I tried to join her group on DK back in Feb but never got accepted into it.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I will write more later on her progress. If you know anything about red blood counts or spleen functions, please do tell me.

[Bonnie and Kona]

Thank you for the update. The fact that the hospital is ready to release her is heartening. I hope she recovers quickly and without complication. Thank you for updating us and please continue to do so. You are in our thoughts and prayers. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Here is an explanation on the human spleen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spleen
The vomiting could be related to the anesthesia. Keeping Biba inactive is essential. It sounds like Biba's blood count is stable at this point, which is good.