spay complications

[Stacy]

I just had one of the worst mornings ever.  So I’m going to tell you my story because I know you will understand. With the disclaimer that this was a freak thing that will probably never happen to anyone else.  And that it might be a little gross.

 

The timeline of events goes like this:

 

Wed. 10/12 Ava was spayed

 

Sunday night 10/16 I noticed some drainage from her incision and her vagina.

 

Monday 10/17 we went to the vet and they said she had a fluid collection under her incision and it would be fine. They gave her some steroids and antibiotics and told me to try to express the drainage. The vaginal drainage they attributed to her possibly being in heat recently prior to being spayed.  Now, I hadn’t seen any signs of her being in heat or that she had been in heat – but they’re the vet. I noted that the drainage looked the same as what was coming out of her incision, but they didn’t seem concerned.

 

Thursday 10/20 I woke up and noted a small amount of frank blood coming from her vagina. So we went back to the vet. My vet wasn’t there but the other vet in the practice examined her and thought she would be okay. Gave her more steroids and antibiotics. He didn’t really give me a good explanation of what was going on. I was afraid she was hemorrhaging internally, but he kind of poo-poo’d me and sent me home. My fear was that she needed more surgery, so I was happy to accept that they didn’t think she did. My gut told me that something was still wrong. And I should have listened to it. (Let that be a lesson, always listen to your gut) But when the vet says what you hope they will say it’s hard to argue with that. He kept mumbling about her being an older dog. I was thinking she’s 6. It’s not like she’s 13. But still. He said what I wanted to hear, so I heard it.

 

Friday 10/21 at 3:30 in the morning I woke up, I think because Ava was licking herself. She was still wearing the cone, so she couldn’t reach her incision but she could reach her vaginal area.

 

And that’s when my nightmare really begins. She was hemorrhaging. And I’m not talking about a little blood. There was blood and golf ball sized clots. She was actively bleeding everywhere. I threw on some clothes and we went racing to the emergency vet. I got pulled over right before I pulled into the parking lot, but bless the heart of the nice policeman, when I asked him to give me the ticket fast because my dog was bleeding, he shined his light into the back seat and escorted me into the vets office. Later I heard that he looked a little green in the lobby – there was a lot of blood. But my hands were shaking too hard for me to notice.

 

They called the surgeon in from home and they did exploratory surgery. When he came out he told me that both ligatures had slipped off the uterine body. The uterine body had sealed itself to the top of the urinary bladder and that’s why it’s been a slow leak until this morning when everything kind of burst loose. I won’t keep you all in suspense, they think she will make a full recovery. But they’re keeping her there until tomorrow. He also said there was still a collection of fluid under her incision line and that tissue didn’t look viable so they excised that and she got a bit of a tummy tuck.

 

The estimated vet bill for my “free” sort-of-rescue is about $4000. But she is so worth it. I love that girl so much. I don’t know what I would do without her. I just wish that she hadn’t had to go through so much with this. And I would be lying if I said that the cost didn’t hurt me just a little too.

 

Now I feel really torn. I’m in health care, so I get it. No surgery is completely without risks. But what on earth happened here that everything went so wrong? And when I took her back twice with concerns how did it still get missed? I’ve been using the same vet since 2005 and this is the first time I’ve had a problem, but it’s a pretty big problem. Do I need to change vets? And not only that, I’m angry at myself. I should have pushed harder. I knew something was wrong, but I let them tell me what I wanted to hear even though I didn’t really believe them. If we had done something yesterday then maybe it wouldn’t have gotten to that critical point.

 

And I’m sure they will never read this, but I just want to give a shout out to VCA Mission Animal Referral and Emergency Center and Dr. Hazenfield. They were amazing. Wonderful, kind, compassionate. I’ve been there on several occasions for several different things over the years and they are where you want to be when you have an emergency.

 

And now I am going to try to clean up the crime scene in my car. Seriously. CSI worthy!

 

Squish all of your healthy doodles tight this morning

Stacy

[Kat and Winston]

First, I'm so sorry about all you have been through. It sounds absolutely terrifying, but am very glad that your girl should be OK.

Do you know if pet insurance would cover the complication from a procedure that isn't actually covered? Hopefully it would.

[Stacy]

Thank you! 

I am the first to admit that I know nothing about what is covered or not covered under a vet insurance policy. Sadly, I don't even know that much about my own health insurance policy. 

Hopefully one of these really smart ladies will jump in and be able to answer your question! But just in general, my personal opinion is that if it didn't cover something like this it would be very bad insurance. 

[Ginny Nightingale]

wow--good doodle momma!!! Your quick action saved her life! Vets are not infallible and can be fooled by that "slow leak" but I would definitely have a report from the emergency vet in hand and go talk to your vet--at the very least, you should get some money back on the spay...even a little bit would help!

[Stacy]

Thank you for saying that. It makes me feel better. The thought that she could have bled to death if I'd waited for the vet to open - not that anyone who saw her would have done that. I know blood is deceiving. You can paint an entire room with one cup of blood and it would look like gallons. But there were pools of blood in my car. It was on the windows, it was dripping down the outside of the door. There was a blood puddle in the parking lot and bloody footprints all the way to the door. It was horrific. I won't be surprised if I have nightmares. And it was crazy. They were talking to me and I couldn't retain any information. I've seen that happen to people at my work, but it's really weird to experience it. They would ask me a question and halfway through answering it I couldn't remember what the question was. 

It's not really about the money, (though that would buy a lot of dog food!) there's no amount of money that would replace Ava. But it would be really reassuring if they would call me and say that they are sorry that it happened and that they learned something that will benefit someone else's dog. 

Have you seen a slow leak like that before? Because the vet I saw yesterday acted like I was crazy. I told him I was afraid she was bleeding internally and they totally dismissed it. They said if she was bleeding internally her belly would be huge and she would be in pain and not eating and anemic. And she was bleeding internally this whole time, and everyone at my vet's just ignored me.

[Amy and Annabelle]

That just sounds so horrific Stacy, I just can't imagine having to go through that. I can fall apart so easy when my loved ones are in danger. I would be a total basket case. I remember having to call the poison center for the first time when one of my kids ate something poisonous in the neighbors yard. I think I was crying the whole time I was on the phone. I hope the police officer is feeling less queasy by now. I hope this has at the very least, been a learning experience for your vet, so another furry patient and pet parent doesn't have to go through this. Glad sweet Ava gets to come home tomorrow to continue her recovery.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Oh, Stacy, I am so sorry this happened.  I know you were concerned because you posted about it here.  I think we need to trust our guts.  The problem this time is that you got thwarted each time by the professionals.  Of course, we believe them!  I am so glad Ava should be okay. 

If you feel strong enough, I WOULD confront the vet about it. I would review Ava's history with them- that you took her back and that she was NOT checked out thoroughly enough, because this wasn't caught and should have been.  I would let them know that I had lost confidence in them.  I would also ask them if they have insurance to help with this bill because you followed their advice in good faith.   As to finding another vet, I think you need to decide if this was an excusable mistake or not.  If you are in the health care field, you will be able to make an educated decision.

[Stella]

Oh my, I'm so sorry to hear what happened. Hugs to you both, what a horrible experience. I would expect at the very least an aplogy from your vet office, things happen, surgeries have complications, but in this case they were negligent in their re-examination and missed something life threatening.

I understand your quandary about your vet. I have used the same office for nearly seven years and on the whole have been happy with them, and the female vet we see. Recently while hiking, with my dogs on leash, one of my doods was attacked and injured by an off leash dog. When that dogs owner finally caught up with his dog, who had pinned my dog, it was the owner of my vet clinic. So, he covered all the bills but I was, and still am, very angry with him. But, he's not my actual vet so I figured I'd still go there because I like the girl we see. When I called the other day about renewing my other dogs prescription I was told she is no longer there. So, now I don't know what do do. The other nearest vet practice I would go to is about forty five mins away. So, I'd be making life difficult for myself and he probably wouldn't even notice that I quit his practice!!

[Stacy]

I feel like I read about this sometime in the past. I'm so sorry that happened to you and your guys. 

Changing vets is hard. Even the idea is overwhelming. I have been blessed with very healthy dogs, so I don't think that my vet misses me when I'm not there. He recognizes me on sight, but he might never notice if I just didn't show up again. I moved a year ago and I've been making 1 1/2 hour round trips to see this vet. Not exactly convenient, but easier than changing vets. But with this incentive I think there are probaby some good vets that are in my area. I think I'm going to have to start looking.

[Nancy and Georgia Brown]

Wow this is so scary. I'm glad you caught it in time. I would have acted the same way, as I'm pretty neurotic about such things, and knowing I'm that way makes me doubt my instincts most of the time.

[Stacy]

It's a fine line. I do know some stuff, and I try really hard not to overreact, even though that is my nature. So when I know something is wrong I want to be heard. But at the same time I don't want to be that crazy lady who is making problems when none exist. I so want to say, "I told you so. I told you something was wong and you didn't listen." But I also don't want to be that person. You know what I mean? 

[Nancy and Georgia Brown]

I really think you have a case to take back to your vet. You shouldn't be liable for their mistake. You questioned them all along the way. They made a mistake or more than one, and it cost you a lot of money.

I am so thankful your dog is okay, but I would be pretty angry. It's too much money to just pay and chalk it up to a bad experience. I might even be inclined to contact a lawyer if the original vet doesn't take any responsibility. 

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

I'm so sorry you and Ava had to go through this.  It sounds like a nightmare but you saved her ... twice.  I think you have every right to be very angry with your original vet(s) after 2 visits and I hope they reach out to you to make this right.  At least as right as they can for not taking your instincts more seriously.  But what's most important is that she's going to be ok.