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]

*Also, the vet removed the umbilical hernia. We never found the hair tie. While I'm sure she ate it, maybe she chewed it into smaller pieces so we didn't see it easily in her poop. It was about 1.5 inches in diameter and maybe 3 inches circumference.

[Gail and Bailey]

Sending positive thoughts for Biba's quick recovery!  Such a scary thing for you to go through!  Give little Biba a gentle Doodle Kiss for me!

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Here is some information on blood work. 

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/understanding-blood-work-the-complete-... :

he following is an example of a complete blood count report. Normal values often vary from lab to lab and are represented in parentheses. These norms should not be considered universal.

WBC..... 10.6 x 10-3/mcl.........(4-12 x 10-3/mcl)
RBC....... 6.2 x 10-6/mcl........(5.7-10.5 x 10-6/mcl)
HGB........ 14 g/dl............(9-16 g/dl)
HCT..........48%................(38-52%)
MCV....... 55.9 fl............(40-60 fl)
MCH....... 18.2 pg............(15-20 pg)
MCHC...... 33.5 g/dl..........(32-36 g/dl)
PLT........ 210/mcl.............(160-420/mcl)

• HGB is an abbreviation for hemoglobin. This molecule is responsible for binding and releasing oxygen onto the red blood cells. Without hemoglobin, oxygen cannot be transported. High levels of hemoglobin usually indicate high red blood cell counts and dehydration. Low levels indicate anemia, bleeding or iron deficiency.
  
  
• HCT is an abbreviation for hematocrit. The hematocrit is a calculated percentage of red blood cells in the circulation. It gives similar information to the red blood cell count but the value is expressed as a percentage. The other part of the blood is serum, containing enzymes, proteins, electrolytes, etc. High hematocrits indicate dehydration or rare bone marrow disorders resulting in increased red blood cell production. Low hematocrits indicate anemia, bone marrow disorders, blood loss, active bleeding or excessive red blood destruction due to toxins or immune disorders.

[Itims]

Thanks so much! 

[Janice Jones]

I am hoping to hear things are looking up for Biba really soon. Best wishes for a full recovery!

[Itims]

Yes, we brought Biba home on Friday afternoon and shes been a champ. A bit too active but all other signs (breathing, gums, poop, appetite) is good. Shes gone from being walked for approximately 2 hours through the day to zilch and its taking its toll. And this is just when we discovered a big dog park close to our house. 

She does sleep a lot but when shes up, she wants to play. So hard to stop her from jumping on the furniture. I've been leashing her to the couch but that results in mournful barking and whimpers. 

[Janice Jones]

I am so happy to hear Biba is home. The best place for a good recovery with lots of TLC. :-)
It is tough keeping a dog inactive, but hopefully she settles into "rest mode" soon. Best wishes to you all!

[F, Calla & Luca]

That is good news. Don't give in to Biba's whimpers. That spleen needs time to heal.

[Cathy, Fozzie & Shaggy]

Great news! As F said don't give in to the whimpers. Would she be more content in her crate with a toy that dispenses treats?

[Itims]

We stopped crating her when she was about 4 months. She hangs out in our bedroom without any incident. I'm pretty sure shes going to bark and cry in the crate too. We just need to be strict with the leashing. 

I've been letting her chew on her antler and Himalayan milk bone. She is not a power chewer and only will play with each one for 15-20 minutes in the morning and evening. So that is about 90 mins of chewing through the entire day. Should I not do that? 

Here is a picture of her in her onesie (idea taken from someone at DK, thank you!!)

[Cathy, Fozzie & Shaggy]

She is adorable!!! So glad she's doing so well!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

So glad to hear she is doing so well. She looks so cute in her onesie! Have you tried bullysticks? Tara is not a power chewer either and bullysticks are her chew of choice.  They aren't as hard as the antlers or Himalayan milk bones but they still last her for days.