Neutering Complications… Opinions?
October 23, 2009 by admin
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
I got my 2 year old Papillon neutered this month, and there were a lot of problems. A few people have suggested I try to file some sort of formal complaint against the surgeon. I wanted to get some opinions and see if anyone else has ever seen or heard of a neuter going this badly.
As background, the dog in question was 2 years old, both testicles fully descended, no hernias to repair. Should have been a very open and shut case. He was at the vet for a total of 8 hours. (Tuesday)
As soon as I picked him up, he was already very swollen, had a small, BRIGHT purple bruise above and to the side of the incision, and the incision itself was a lumpy, scabby mess- nothing like the neat incisions I’ve seen on all my other cats and dogs after surgery. He was sent home without any sort of e-collar, pain meds, or antibiotics (I know they didn’t send my kittens home with any meds, but it’s been a long time since I had a dog neutered- do they usually get meds?). He also was dehydrated when I got him home- he had clearly not received any water, orally or otherwise, since the previous evening at 9pm (I picked him up at 4pm the following day). I had to resort to giving him small drinks of water every 30-60 minutes for over 6 hours, because if I gave him access to the water bowl, he’d drink so much he gagged. When I took the water away, he stared at it and cried. He also had not been allowed access to any potty area other than the crate he was in at the vet, and since he is crate trained, he refused to potty, and I had to take him out at least 4 times in the first hour he was home, and he both peed and pooped each time.
That night, he couldn’t even lay down. He stood hunched in a corner shaking and crying. I followed all the rules, kept him penned or crated, no jumping, no stairs, no playing, just quiet. I held him most of the night, and he didn’t sleep.
I took him to his regular vet (who did not perform the surgery) the next day (Wednesday). The bruise and swelling had both gotten worse. She agreed that it was very swollen and sore, although she would not comment on the surgeon’s work or offer any ideas as to how it got so bad. She gave him Clavamox and Metacam, and an e-collar.
The meds seemed to help him get comfortable enough to lay down and sleep, but the swelling and bruising kept getting worse by the hour, and the following day (Thursday) a large, hard lump appeared on one side of his groin, and he cried when it was touched. I wasn’t certain I could get to my regular vet (they were booked all weekend and *might* be able to squeeze me in if I kept calling) so I took him to the ER Thursday night. They did an ultrasound and said there was no internal bleeding or fluids building up or anything else, but the lump could be a small hernia that might have to be repaired later. They said they couldn’t tell for sure until the swelling from the neuter went away.
I was so busy worrying I failed to get photos until day 7 after the surgery. You can still see the bruising and swelling, as well as the possible hernia. (These are closeups of little boy-dog parts, so if you’re squeamish don’t open them.)http://www.flickr.com/photos/26506846@N0…http://www.flickr.com/photos/26506846@N0…http://www.flickr.com/photos/26506846@N0…
We are now on day 13 following surgery. The incision is still swollen and scabby, there is still some faint bruising, and the possible hernia is still present.http://www.flickr.com/photos/26506846@N0…http://www.flickr.com/photos/26506846@N0…
I have never had any cat or dog, male or female, react this way to surgery. Nor has anyone else I know. I wish I had pictures of him in the first few days, those bruises were all a deep, dark purple. And none of those spots in the pictures is natural pigment, he has a pure pink belly with no spots. All the coloration is bruising. It extended all the way to his navel and down both inner thighs.
I kept the pictures and the vet reports, but am not sure if I can or should file a complaint or exactly who to report the incident to.
Thoughts? Would you complain? Would you consider it normal?
Related Papillon Training & Care posts:
Your dog is a full grown male so the vascular system to the testes was much more developed than in a puppy, so a relatively large amount of bruising and swelling is not out of the realm of normal. It appears that your dog had an exceptionally hard time with the bleeding. The sac is certainly swollen with fluid on day seven but definitely better on your last pictures. You are taking good care of the incision site.
It is very common in California to give pain medications and an E-collar for all surgeries, but old-school vets in different states may not. It is normal procedure here to give a dog in surgery IV fluids, but many owners decline due to the added cost. It is elective. many low-cost clinics do not use IVs to save the owners the added cost. It’s a risk, but many times people find the savings worth it.
Your dog may not have felt comfortable to drink or eliminate at the vet’s office. That, too, is not uncommon with a little dog, especially if he is very attached to his owner. An IV would have mitigated the problem.
I would complain to the original vet and ask for explanations. Don’t be confrontational, but do explain your concerns and show the photos.
I would ask your personal vet if the hernia could be a result from the neuter surgery and if it was preventable (sometimes complications cannot be prevented.) If if was a botch, the vet who performed the neuter surgery should pay for the hernia repair. Personally, if I were concerned about the quality of a neuter surgery, I wouldn’t have the original vet do the repair. I’d go to my regular vet.
ETA:
“I forgot to add, one of the problems I’m having with the complaint is that the surgery was performed through a low-cost neuter service offered by a local animal rescue. They did not give me the name of the surgeon, and I’m not sure if they will if I ask them for it or if they’ll refuse so that they don’t get any bad press.”
Ask your vet when is is normal to offer water to a dog post-op. See if that fits within the time you picked him up.
“He was hospitalized twice before, once for eating chewing gum (overnight stay) and once for having his puppy teeth removed (daytime stay). Neither time did he refuse to eat, drink, or eliminate when given the opportunity. He’s also stayed with friends and family before and never behaved abnormally. He is a very outgoing, friendly dog and loves any attention from any human. I am 100% certain he did not get water, and they told me outright that he had not been taken outside or out of his crate at all during his stay.”
He was put under – that does sometimes change behaviors, but hew should have been offered a small walk when he recovered post-op. Again, ask your vet about normal procedures.
“I’ve had other animals fixed at other low-cost clinics, they’ve always given me the option for the “extras” (ie pain meds, fluids, etc.) and I’ve always paid for anything they offered to make the animal more comfortable. This clinic did not offer anything extra, they claimed the fee covered “everything”.
Here’s your red flag, with a caveat: did you ask specifically about IV fluids, pain meds, etc.? If yes, then you can contact your lawyer about them paying your follow-up bill from the surgery. You might consider having your lawyer send a nasty-gram their way anyway, if your first (polite) visits go nowhere. Ultimately, you want them offering the fluids, medications, etc. to people’s pets. Your pet cannot collect pain and suffering damages, but you could file in small claims court (for cost of follow-up emergency visits and perhaps the surgery itself) if you have independent (your vet, ER vet, independent vet – someone with a DVM at the end of their name) verification that the surgery procedures should have been done differently.
It makes a particularly strong case (actually, your only hope of winning the argument inside or outside of court) if you keep your pictures and keep a log of what happened when and with whom you speak. It is very important to keep a good, clear record of circumstances. But you always need to keep your cool and be especially polite. It is very tempting to get emotional, but this is not the time to do that.
I would certainly let other know about your personal experience, but be careful not to state anything other than a fact – you don’t want to be libelous.
Hell yes I would be complaining!
I would say check back at your regular vet and the one who performed the surgery and ask them both about it. It could be extremely serious. If the surgeon is at fault, you could sue for the removal of this possible hernia. It can be expensive.
Good luck.
In my honest opinion…..not sending an animal home with pain meds is malpractice, also is not offering water or bathroom breaks while hospitalized. As for the surgical site, the bruising is somewhat normal, some animals do bruise much more than others, while some don’t bruise whatsoever. And for the incision….that looks as if there was a local reaction to the suture material (essentially like an allergic reaction) and therefore the dog should have been prescribed antibiotics to be safe. And to have a hernia there, is very uncommon, unless it was caused by the surgeon not closing the layers of the skin properly. The scrotum looks large because there may have been a small amount of bruising there (a small blood clot).
If this were my animal, yes I would file a complaint, just call the rescue and they should have no problem letting you know what vet did the surgery, it’s your right. The next step I would take would be to call the state/provincial veterinary medical association, and then to write a formal letter including copies of the photos. This is your right, and the medical association has professional people who handle things like this on a regular basis.
All the best….I hope everything works out…
Oh your poor baby!
All surgeries require pain medications. He should have had pain medication and antibiotics. He also should have gotten food and water after surgery, and been taken outside.
I would sue for medical malpractice. Honestly, I would talk to lawyers now.
Get copies of all the medical records from surgery, your vet, and the ER.
Neuters are one of the least complicated animal surgeries out there. If they screwed up so bad on that, I can’t begin to imagine the problems they could cause with other conditions.
I am so, so sorry this happened to you and your dog. I hope he is feeling better.
Someone really botched up. Yes I would complain it definitely is not normal and I wouldn’t have waited this long, I would have taken him for a second opinion right after surgery..