Any experience with older dogs and surgery?

[WDWBarb]

My 12 year old GSD was sick yesterday morning - something was very "off" about her. I took her into the vet as soon as they opened and they quickly called in the ultrasound technician (thankfully she was immediately available). They found 2 tumors on her spleen and advised that surgery must be done immediately or she wouldn't last long.

He said the surgery would be risky but there wasn't an option if we wanted her to live.

He removed a 12 lb tumor from her belly - he said it was the size of a soccer ball. Actually, this is excellent news, because we had been treating her with only some success for several problems that were likely caused by this massive thing (back pain, bladder control issues, etc). Now, how it wasn't caught before... I can't explain. Her weight didn't change until the last few weeks - we only weigh her at the vet and she gained 7 lbs between visits (about 4 weeks) according to the scale yesterday. The other great news from all of this is that all tests showed she's otherwise in excellent health. There are no signs of tumors anywhere else.

So, to my question - do you have any experience with an older dog recovering from surgery? It was never a consideration to not perform it, but she is 12 and I've never had any experience with this.

She had TPLO at age 4 and that recovery was awful - but she had to be confined for 4 weeks and she was extremely hyper at that age.

She comes home Monday if all is well.

So have you ever had an older dog who had major surgery? Was their recovery longer and harder, or not so much?

 

[momto3gr8boys]

My pug had melanoma and had to have part of her foot amputated at age 10. She must have been so uncomfortable before because the recovery was a breeze. Much easier than the spaying recovery! She wore the collar (lampshade) and was fairly content. She was much more of a couch potato by this point in life that she wasn't being overly active and aggravating her wound. Hopefully the same will hold true for your dog!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I'm sorry to hear this, Barb, and I wish your girl a speedy and peaceful recovery.

Dogs often do better with surgery than humans do. That said, older dogs (and people) can have problems related to their age and other disease states. But each dog (and person) is unique so you never really know what's going to happen. I'd take a one day at a time approach. And spoil her rotten now, too. (We're doing the same with our girl, as she's got DM.)

 

[2goofycampers]

Last year at age 12 our dog had 4 tumors removed. It was unbelievable how quickly she healed. We had to force her not to play and run. It wasn't as invasive as your pups. Wishing your gal a very speedy recovery.

 

[WDWBarb]

I just got a call from the vet and he's says she's doing GREAT and that she can come home now!! He said he's amazed at how good she looks. Thank you everyone for the feedback - I know it's still early but he says he is extremely optimistic and he isn't worried about her at all. I can't tell you how happy I am!!

 

[tennisfan]

My old Westie had TPLO surgery at 12 and half and recovered well from it. Everyone said we were wrong to put him through the surgery as he was old but he went on to live another 3 years and was comfortable until the end.

Glad to hear your dog is doing well

 

[SUSIEQ]

I just got a call from the vet and he's says she's doing GREAT and that she can come home now!! He said he's amazed at how good she looks. Thank you everyone for the feedback - I know it's still early but he says he is extremely optimistic and he isn't worried about her at all. I can't tell you how happy I am!!

Great news!

 

[IDoDis]

My first dog (Border Collie) that I got when I turned 11 years old had a tumor removed when she was 15 1/2. I'm not sure where it was exactly but somewhere near her stomach. She had some arthritis and had lost her hearing, but other than that, she was healthy before the tumor was discovered. After the surgery, she stayed on an IV for another day. Then she came home. Things went downhill from there. She wouldn't eat and wouldn't get up and walk around or go outside to do her business. We took her back to the vet and after another 24 hour IV, they said her kidneys were shutting down. Sadly, we had to put her to sleep.

In hindsight, it wasn't a good idea to do the surgery on a 15 year old dog. I should have let her go when the tumor was discovered. I was young and didn't think about the age factor, nor was I advised about that from the vet. The tumor turned out to be benign, but the surgery was too much for her old body to recover from. Your dog is several years younger, so you should have great results. I'm glad that so far it sounds like your dog's surgery was the right thing to do.

 

[JessicaR]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery! So glad she gets to come home now!!

My aunt and uncles Vizsla had a tumor on her spleen removed at age 8. She did very well and recovered quickly. I think the breed and health of the dog has much to do with it.

My Neapolitan Mastiff had a tumor that was found when he was 8 turning 9 near his heart. He was filling with fluid. For that breed 9 is a wonderful life to have lived so we made him comfortable and spoiled him rotten as surgery was not an option.

 

[WDWBarb]

So sorry for those of you who have lost your dogs We came awful close this time. When we went to pick her up today, the vet told us the tumor had already started bleeding and she would have bled out in a short time. It's amazing that we got there in time.

She's hurting pretty badly. At the vet's she acted way more "normal" but I think her adrenaline was flowing and masking her pain. She has mostly lain around. She has eaten (quite a bit) and she has had lots and lots of water. But I can tell that she's very uncomfortable. She has an 8" incision all the way down her belly. He said he started with a much smaller cut but the size of that thing made him keep cutting.

But wow - she sure is skinny now! The one thing that I noticed immediately is that she isn't having such a hard time getting up off the floor because there's so much less weight in her belly. That's an enormous relief! We thought she just had terrible arthritis but it seems it was just all that extra weight.

Thank you everyone for sharing - I feel MUCH better about the decision to have this surgery now. No, the vet never even suggested any other option, but I had several people tell me that I was being selfish to put her through it at her age. And my vet loves her so much that it wouldn't be anything he would want to consider.

It's so amazing to have her home

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I'm glad she's home and the tumor is out. I would only feed her small bits of food and water at a time because her bowels may not be fully functional yet, and the pressure from eating may cause additional pain. It may be a long night, but hopefully tomorrow is better for her. Please give her a scratch for us.

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

Sounds like you girl is going to recover well. Just don't over-do the food and try to keep her quiet. Glad she is doing well!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

How is our girl doing today?

 

[LiveYourLife]

Barb, keeping your sweet girl in my thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.

My Friend's dog (12 yr old) had a non-cancerous tumor the size of a volleyball, and ultimately her spleen removed right after Christmas and the recovery went very well. Dogs (even the oldies) can be pretty resilient. In my Friend's dog's case, the mass was hidden behind the ribs and then just dropped one day. Our vet said it is quite common for that to happen in older dogs, especially Goldens.

Again, lots of prayers and good wishes to you and your girl.

 

[themarquis]

Our old girl had surgery to remove a parathyroid tumor a while back. We're not sure of her age (she was adopted as an older dog and the humane society had no info on her background) but she's in her 'golden years' for sure. The first 24-48 hours was pretty rough. We had her set up on the couch (where she loves to sleep) and she was so drugged up she rolled over and fell off! It was horrible and heartbreaking and very upsetting to her

But she bounced back pretty quick and ended up doing great!

We have decided though at this point, no more surgeries for her. She's going to just live out the remainder of her golden years in peace. I think it was pretty rough to put her old body through major surgery - worth it at the time but from now on, no mroe invasive procedures.

It sounds like you did a good thing and your girl will be a lot more comfortableand happy with those tumors removed - comfortable and happy is the goal for our older dogs!

 

[WDWBarb]

How is our girl doing today?

She's got me a little more worried today. I was hoping she would get some rest last night but she was up and down a lot. She just can't get comfortable anywhere. . She's drinking a lot, but I know painkillers can make them very thirsty. I'm hoping that since this is really just day 2, my expectations are just a bit high.

Now my other dog has me concerned. He's only eaten a few bites of food since this whole ordeal started. I am hoping it's just stress - another sick baby would be very bad.

I'm very grateful that she is home because she originally wasn't coming home until at least tomorrow. But now I worry that it was too early. The vet felt she'd be more comfortable here but she follows me everywhere (always has). I tried putting a gate up so she couldn't follow me to do the laundry last night but she got very upset and moved around even more.

Thanks to everyone - it's so good to know that there are others who have either been through this type of situation or can relate to how hard this is.

But I am so grateful that she is still around, and that she appears to be doing everything she can to stay around.

 

[WDWBarb]

Barb, keeping your sweet girl in my thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery. My Friend's dog (12 yr old) had a non-cancerous tumor the size of a volleyball, and ultimately her spleen removed right after Christmas and the recovery went very well. Dogs (even the oldies) can be pretty resilient. In my Friend's dog's case, the mass was hidden behind the ribs and then just dropped one day. Our vet said it is quite common for that to happen in older dogs, especially Goldens. Again, lots of prayers and good wishes to you and your girl.

Wow - this makes me feel so much better! She never had any increase in size of her belly (at least nothing really noticeable) until Friday morning. It was instantly apparent to me that she was swollen and her belly was hanging low. To know what was in there... I've been fretting over how I didn't see it. Something that big doesn't grow overnight. But something like this would make sense. So it's possible this was the case...

 

[Katy Belle]

Our Scout Dog had surgery at age 10, back surgery to fix two ruptured discs. She was paralyzed for a day before the surgery and she is fine now!

Recovery wasn't too bad with her. We had to keep on the meds and we had to support her body for her...hold her up to potty, she was not allowed to climb up or down or jump up or down. So for a couple of weeks it was a very physically taxing job to take care of her. Then she was fine. We did have to stay on top of the pain meds and the other meds.

Good luck to your doggie! Nothing like an old dog! In my opinion! They are just so sweet!

 

[WDWBarb]

Just an update .. I had to share because I can't express how overjoyed I am.

It's almost 1 week later and my sweet old GSD acts like she never even had this major surgery. Once she ran out of painkillers (which was yesterday morning), it was as if she just turned back on. She is playing, eating like a horse, and just aglow with life.

To think - I was minutes away from losing her and now, she's actually better than she's been in years.

I'm walking around with an even greater appreciation for the time we all have together and the time we have on this Earth.

It may sound silly, but I worry so much about her that I put a webcam on her favorite spot in front of our big window so I can make sure she's OK while I'm at work. I can't get enough of just watching her enjoy the warm sun. And I love that I can still see her.

 

[JessicaR]

Just an update .. I had to share because I can't express how overjoyed I am.

It's almost 1 week later and my sweet old GSD acts like she never even had this major surgery. Once she ran out of painkillers (which was yesterday morning), it was as if she just turned back on. She is playing, eating like a horse, and just aglow with life.

To think - I was minutes away from losing her and now, she's actually better than she's been in years.

I'm walking around with an even greater appreciation for the time we all have together and the time we have on this Earth.

It may sound silly, but I worry so much about her that I put a webcam on her favorite spot in front of our big window so I can make sure she's OK while I'm at work. I can't get enough of just watching her enjoy the warm sun. And I love that I can still see her.

So very happy to hear your news! Wishing her continued healing.