Need advice on my dog

[lovemylife]

I thought I would ask all of you what you thought of my situation.

In March, my DH and I were given an Austrailan Shepherd. She is a wonderful dog, very sweet. We really didn't want her having puppies, so at the end of May we got her fixed. At that time, her incision did not look good to either of us. It was bumpy and not straight and just didn't look right. We have had cats in the past and 1 other dog before and none of their incisions looked like this. So fast forward to June 8 and we noticed that her incision was red and didn't look good, so I called the vet. They got her in that morning and said she had an allergic reaction to her stitches and gave her 10 days of antibiotics. We then left for vacation for 2 weeks and I gave her all her antibiotics and she seemed fine. Now last night I looked at her belly because of the way she was laying, and her incision area is really red on the bottom half and there is a quarter size lump behind the incision.

I know that she needs to be looked at again, but the vet is closed due to the holiday today. My question is, do you think that I should have to pay for more treatment if she needs it or that they should do it for free, if she would require anything other than another round of antibiotics? I don't have a ton of money to be putting toward this operation when we already paid $250 to begin with and $30 for antibiotics. Just wanted an opinion before I take her in, hopefully on Monday.

Thanks

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Everyone has to pay.

do you think that I should have to pay for more treatment if she needs it or that they should do it for free

You seem to be implying it's somehow the vet's "fault" that the incision didn't heal well, but that's not necessarily so. As a hospital nurse, I can assure you that incisions don't always heal well, that's just the nature of any surgery. I'd expect to pay for continued treatment if there continue to be problems, unless I had proof there was negligence or error, etc.

Pet ownership is expensive, unfortunately. BTW, this is probably pretty painful for your dog, FYI. Be careful when you're looking at it or touching it, etc, and be cautious if the dog is in pain she could get irritable or bite.

 

[wdwmom2]

Everyone has to pay.



You seem to be implying it's somehow the vet's "fault" that the incision didn't heal well, but that's not necessarily so. As a hospital nurse, I can assure you that incisions don't always heal well, that's just the nature of any surgery. I'd expect to pay for continued treatment if there continue to be problems, unless I had proof there was negligence or error, etc.

Pet ownership is expensive, unfortunately. BTW, this is probably pretty painful for your dog, FYI.

^^^^^I agree^^^^^.

I do hope your dog is on the mend soon!!!

 

[pumba]

our sons female german short hair had to be on antibiotics twice. So maybe the first dose was not enough to really get rid of the infection. It does happen especially if they are licking the area.
Now our daughters dog had his knee operated on last fall....he is still licking it and it opened back up...he is a short squatty dog...Victorian Bulldog. And he had to go on antibiotics and a cone around his neck....he licked it until he jumped and the skin broke lose.....happens .

Your dog will be fine until the vet opens again.
and I second the part about animals being very expensive...our dog is going for her blood recheck for her thyroid and other things....it will be probably 200....always leaves that place at least that much.

 

[MushyMushy]

Unless they sewed something up inside her, yeah you'll need to pay. Not to be gross, but that sounds like how both my c-sections healed. Wasn't anybody's fault and I continued to pay for each visit as we tried to get it all straightened out.

I hope your poor doggy gets better soon, poor thing!

 

[fkj2]

Boy, that's hard to say.

If she was "fine," it sounds as though another issue has developed. The "lump" you describe may be a small hernia that could have developed for any reason from the allergy to the sutures (with resulting inflammation) to the dog's activity while recovering, or just an accumulation of fluid from the wound itself.

Either situation does not mean that the dog was not provided veterinary care according to accepted standards. Things happen in medicine and no one can ask a professional to accept the responsibility for additional expenses which may result through no fault of their own.

I'd observe her for occurrence of an elevated temperature, pain, changes in her activity, making sure she's passing her water and stool, that she's eating and drinking adequately, and her level of alertness. Any changes would make me take an animal to an emergency facility before next week. Your vet may not be in on Monday. I think that's the legal holiday.

You might want to consider a second opinion. Hope it all works out for you.

 

[tomthebarncat]

Please take her back for follow up, and due to budgeting issues, I would put it on my credit card! and worry about money later. I do realize for many that is just not an option but do the best that you can given your current resources. I hope pup feels better!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

a small hernia may have developed

I doubt it's a hernia. It's likely to be a seroma, hematoma, or abcess, all of which are common in surgical areas.

 

[DeluxePrincess]

Yes, you will have to pay. If your dog had an allergic reaction, that is not the vet's fault. Hope you can get it looked at ASAP. It can't be comfortable for the dog.

 

[dakcp2001]

I may be the only dissenter here, but I think I'd take her to another vet. I would def expect to pay for it, but I would want someone else to look at it. Pet ownership is really expensive sometimes! I hope your dog feels better!

 

[DeluxePrincess]

I may be the only dissenter here, but I think I'd take her to another vet. I would def expect to pay for it, but I would want someone else to look at it. Pet ownership is really expensive sometimes! I hope your dog feels better!

I agree that if you have a bad feeling about your vet, please get a second opinion.

 

[tiggger1]

can you take her to another vet and have it looked at? If they say it was the other vets fault then maybe you have some recourse?

 

[Christine]

I just want to add my story to this.

My dog had a similar reacton after being spayed. Our normal vet did not do the spaying. She was a shelter dog so we had to do the spay and were given a list of vets that would do the spay for $50 (shelter adoption rate). About 2 weeks after her surgery, her incision got red. We were given antibiotics by the vet who did the spay. It seemed to get better and then it flared up again. This time she had a sort of pouch of swelling. I took her into my vet who felt he had to open her up to see what was going on. When he did that, they found a sponge inside the area which was leftover from her surgery. The vet who did the surgery was mortified and refunded me all of my money plus the fee my vet charged.

 

[lovemylife]

I just want to add my story to this.

My dog had a similar reacton after being spayed. Our normal vet did not do the spaying. She was a shelter dog so we had to do the spay and were given a list of vets that would do the spay for $50 (shelter adoption rate). About 2 weeks after her surgery, her incision got red. We were given antibiotics by the vet who did the spay. It seemed to get better and then it flared up again. This time she had a sort of pouch of swelling. I took her into my vet who felt he had to open her up to see what was going on. When he did that, they found a sponge inside the area which was leftover from her surgery. The vet who did the surgery was mortified and refunded me all of my money plus the fee my vet charged.

See that is what I am afraid of. Her incision never looked right from the first day. They never wanted to recheck her after. When I called the first time with the infection, they barely looked at it and gave her an antibiotic and sent her home. I just don't like the fact that we gave her the antibiotics and all looked well until they probably wore off and then she looks worse than she did before. I did find online where this doctor had a few complaints against him and I am hoping that there is nothing more than just needing antibiotics. She seems to act fine, but I can't stomach having her in for another surgery. She is a great dog and we all love her very much, I just feel so bad for her, but I don't like what I am seeing with her incisional area.

 

[tonilea]

I would call the after hours service and talk to the vet on call. Here there would be no charge for that. Is it hot, in addition to being red? Definitely let the vet know.

Does the lump feel like it is fluid filled? If it is not hot and feels fluid filled, I would suspect a seroma. Seromas are not considered an emergency, it is tissue fluid trapped in the incision. They tend to freak people out, but are generally a pretty minor thing. The fluid is removed via needle and syringe.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

I would call a different vet or go to the e-vet. It sounds like your vet may not be as responsive as I would hope if I was in your shoes. Which we have had similar things, but our vet follows up frequently instead of waiting for us to give him progress reports. I am sorry that you are going through this. A routine surgery like that isn't usually such an adventure. Sending good thoughts your way!

 

[lovemylife]

Well, I just looked at her area and it is now bleeding, like the area has broken open, so I called the vet on-call and waiting for a call back.

 

[srferson]

I realize this wasn't your original question, but I would definitely take her to another vet.

If I was in your position and had expendable cash, I'd definitely check in with another vet because I could.

I realize you have budgeting issues, but I think logically it would still benefit you and your dog to see someone else. After all, there's no way of knowing yet whether there was any sort of negligence on the part of the original vet, so I'd expect to continue to pay for treatment. And if I was going to continue to pay for treatment and didn't feel comfortable with the original vet, I'd see very little reason not to see someone else.

I'd say trust your gut. And your gut does not seem to like that original vet.

Hugs for you and the puppy.

 

[lovemylife]

Thanks to all for your advice. Just got back from the vet- emergency call since she was bleeding some. They put a cone on her head so she can't lick it and gave us 3 different medications (2 antibiotics and 1 anti-inflammatory). The problem is is that we were going to our cottage on Monday afternoon, my DH took 2 more extra days off of work to go, and our poor dog can't go swimming and it is going to be 85-90 degrees out and she loves the water. I just feel so bad for her and hope that her problems go away soon. If this doesn't help or if it all comes back again, we are going to definitely be going to a different vet. Hope it doesn't come down to that though.

BTW- it only cost me $83.00 for today. They were going to charge me $85 just for an emergency/holiday call, but did a regular office visit call instead. That helps some.

 

[DeluxePrincess]

Just got back from the vet- emergency call since she was bleeding some. They put a cone on her head so she can't lick it and gave us 3 different medications (2 antibiotics and 1 anti-inflammatory) .

Glad you were able to get in. Do they know exactly what was causing your dog this reaction?