Spay wound advice

[Clair McGuire]

hi all, got my 6 month puppy spayed 13 days ago. And had two check ups and they are happy with how she’s heeling, however I’m not. I raised my concern as to how much of a mess her stomach is from them stitching her back up, and was told ‘oh that will go down’ Now I know I’m not an expert in dogs. But humans I am, and I would never dream of working alongside a surgeon that left a patient like this so I don’t understand why a dog is like so. She had extremely bad bruising and was told the Vet that carries out her operation has big hands - what this matter I don’t know as equipment is used for such operations not his actual hands!!

So I’m here looking for a bit of advice on what I should do, as I know the very bottom is susceptible to infection due to how it’s healing. Should I go back to see the vet and raise my issue with how it’s been done? Do I go to another vet for a second opinion? Or do I just leave her the way she is?

We paid a lot of money to have her spayed and expected high quality care, but the state of her wound just isn’t acceptable in my eyes, it wasn’t emergency surgery so the cosmetic look of this should be of a high standard.

Thanks in advance for any advice given

 

[Kara 1]

That is a terrible scar ...I am suprised a vet would spay a bitch so young ...I would be fuming and changing vets
Keep an eye that it does not get much redder or is hot to touch and bathe the bottom open but in warm salt water ....
I would definitely complain and change vets...asking for a 2nd opinion from the same vets practice may not go down well ...

 

[Clair McGuire]

That is a terrible scar ...I am suprised a vet would spay a bitch so young ...I would be fuming and changing vets
Keep an eye that it does not get much redder or is hot to touch and bathe the bottom open but in warm salt water ....
I would definitely complain and change vets...asking for a 2nd opinion from the same vets practice may not go down well ...

Thanks. We opted for this spay before she had a session based on research and evidence on the pros of the operation.

I know all the signs of infection so will definitely keep an eye on that. I agree it prob won’t go down well if I was to ask for then to re look at it but not sure of how to approach the whole situation as this is the first pet I have owned.

Thanks for your advice x

 

[Mad Murphy]

OMG what a mess. I would go to another vet without delay .
Six months is very young for a spay.. But done is done now you need to find a vet you can 100%

 

[Clair McGuire]

OMG what a mess. I would go to another vet without delay .
Six months is very young for a spay.. But done is done now you need to find a vet you can 100%

Yes it’s young. But I did my homework and it was best for my dog, research and evidence backed so it wasn’t just on the vets say so.

 

[merlina]

That does look nasty in the pic- and I've seen a lot of spays. And she is such a baby- agree with others about the questionable wisdom of doing this to a 6 month old. I'm sure with careful management of the wound it will resolve to a great extent but, oh...I wish vets and all those sites offering 'advice' would consider the whole animal and not just in terms of plumbing! This quite a trauma.

Sorry to rant- I wish you and her well as I'm sure you wanted to do the best but .

 

[Mayblossom]

That doesn’t look good , bless her you’re paying your vet for a service and looks like he hasn’t done a very good job so you’re entitled to go back and ask to have it looked at again if you’re not happy . If ‘it doesn’t go down well’ then change vets as he should put your concerns first ! Had my girls done years ago now but you could hardly see anything, just a very thin line which healed with no scarring at all. Really hoping she heals up ok , poor girlie xx

 

[JoanneF]

Is there a practice manager you could speak to?

 

[Janer]

Oh dear that doesn’t look good. Poor pup x It could be the stitches are pulled too tight. Do they do like a running stitch that they pull to tighten and it’s been pulled too much and come away at the bottom, I don’t know but I wouldn’t be happy either x

 

[Clair McGuire]

Is there a practice manager you could speak to?

Yes. But she’s not always in. I’m going to email them the now with photos etc and will see what they come back with, and have spoke to a neighbour who’s recommended another vet

 

[Whippylove]

That looks bad poor soul when we got Suzie spayed her stitches didn't look like that. Seriously you should find another vet, and definitely make a complaint.

 

[Derekmr]

Doesn't look good, as you say the bottom looks really bad, have to ask why spay so early?

 

[leashedForLife]

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I have zero issues with a pubertal spay [6-MO] & in fact, i recommend it to my puppy-owning clients - so well done, IMO, as she is now virtually immune to any mammary tumors, plus her risk of Pyometra is gone, & her odds of UTIs are much reduced.
As she never had an estrus, her risk of mammary malignancies is less than 1 in 100K.

“Breast cancer” in F dogs is a lifelong risk for any F who has one or more heats, & as it’s 4X as common as breast cancer in women, it’s a massive risk. // Any other possible side-effects of spay pale in comparison - nearly 7 of 10 F dogs diagnosed with breast tumors in the USA, are euthanized during that same vet-appt, because rads show it’s already metastasized to the lungs, & there is no possible treatment.
[The stats are 68% euthed at their Dx appt.]

I agree wholeheartedly that the stitching is subpar, but it also appears to me as if one or more stitches either failed, or her skin tore thru - since it LOOKS as tho it’s a running suture rather than a series of single stitches [much more foolproof & with better cosmetic outcome], i suspect the knot failed, possibly by pulling thru her skin, & the last 2 or 3 stitches then opened.

A thorough cleaning, a sliver recut to give good clean edges, & 3 or 3 single stitches will close it completely, with much-reduced risk of infection, & a smooth thin line as a souvenir.
I’d see that other vet ASAP - *and* send pics to document the poor suturing to the original practice, with a request for a reduction in the bill that will hopefully reimburse U for the 2nd vet’s services.

Good luck,
- terry


PS -
My Akita bitch’s emergency gastropexy for GDV was just one month before her 1st breed ring show, & she placed easily - i memorialized my vet’s neat suture line by putting a photo of her, belly-up, on a coffee mug, courtesy of a photo booth at the show, LOL.
It showed her pale belly, black & white coat, & the thin line of her 14 inch incision in glorious detail.

.

 

[leashedForLife]

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I don’t know why anyone would think a 6-MO pup is “such a baby” -

at 6-MO, She can get pregnant & carry a litter to term anytime now, depending upon the vagaries of her own hormones & any exposure to airborne estrous pheromones from other Fs,
& at 6-MO, He is fully loaded with fully-developed sperm, & stands ready to impregnate any estrous F that will let him mount.

Mother Nature sez they’re both adults, now.

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[Sezzy]

Bless her. I don’t know if this picture is any help, but this is Misty 24hrs after her spey. After a week she got an infection in one of her teats which was probably more due to licking. After two weeks the scar went really pink and sore looking and one of the internal stitches pushed it’s way out! Our vet is very good and is quite happy to look at her with any concerns we have, and I’m sure yours would be too. I can’t even see a mark on her now.

 

[merlina]

Really hope this poor girl is improving.

I have to disagree with Terri. A 6 month old is not a adult dog. And as for that old chestnut, appeals to Mother Nature, she let's 11 year old girls give birth, water-born worms eat out your eyes and would be still killing us all with smallpox if she had her way. Not a nice lady. Glad most people tell her where to go!

 

[Clair McGuire]

Thanks for the positive comments through these replies. As for spaying her at this stage, I think Terry has basically covered all the reasons we done it so don’t really have much to add to that. Regardless of her age for doing this my post was about the scar/wound not about my choice for spaying her.

I complained to my vet practice and got a speedy response this morning and taking Bella in tomorrow to discuss this, not feeling hopefully they are going to see that it’s an awful job, but I am open to hear their reasoning for it. I’m then seeking a second opinion from a different practice to help me make a decision on what to do next.
I shall update you all.

Wound is looking much the same today, and after showing friends and other dog owners they agree it’s an awful job. So keeping my fingers crossed this be to see tomorrow can see what her colleague has done isn’t of quality standards.

 

[Janer]

Hope you get some answers tomorrow and you know the way forward then x

 

[leashedForLife]

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Where did i say, or even imply, that mating a 6-MO bitch is a good idea? - or that breeding a 6-MO dog is a good idea? I stated simply that, biologically, they are both capable of reproduction, which equates to adult status in any organism.

As for 11-YO girls having menses / being fertile, this is a detour from dogs, but it is
humans - not ‘nature’ - that has pushed puberty to younger & younger ages for a few centuries, now.
BMI is a large factor in whether any woman can be fertile, get pregnant, & carry to term; women who are profoundly underweight may have no menses whatever, & may also have no ovulation / be infertile. Intense aerobic fitness, serious malnutrition or simple starvation, can all cause infertility or delay the onset of menses & development of secondary sex traits [e-g, breasts may remain buds, no pubic or auxiliary hair, etc].
EDIT: blasted autocorrect! - i wrote AXILLARY, & that’s precisely what i meant:
‘Armpit’. Quit trying to “fix” my spelling & grammar, U overweening bucket of code. // Sheesh.

puberty in young women used to be at 15-YO or so, but higher BMI means puberty moves down to earlier stages, in developed nations ... to say nothing of the many endocrine disrupters modern humans in post-industrial nations are exposed to, even before they are conceived.
Both sexes are exposed daily to multiple endocrine disrupters, substances which mimic hormones & cause unintended but serious harm, which is cumulative.

The few hunter - gatherer tribes that remain are the only humans whose puberty is still even close to historic ages / stages of growth, & they, too, are nowadays exposed to endocrine disrupters - not in the Saran Wrap they use to keep food fresh in their nonexistent refrigerators, nor in the plastic tumblers they use for beverages, nor in the linings of canned foods, but in the air, the water they drink, the processed foods from the settlement...

Girls as young as 9 in the U-S are having 1st menses, since the introduction & widespread use of rBGH, bovine growth hormone, used to boost commercial milk production per cow.

Nature cannot be held responsible for us humans fouling our own nest, whether that’s via endocrine disrupters, plastic trash in our oceans, or the greenhouse gases we spew from our industries. *Shrug*
“We have met the enemy, & they is us.”


- terry

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[Ari_RR]

As for the scar - I think what you have is the best possible action plan. Discuss with the practice where the procedure was performed, get a second opinion, then determine what's next.

As for spaying at 6 months - there is plenty of information out there for those who really want to research and form an somewhat educated opinion. Yes, a lot of it is outadated, biased, and not substantiated. But with a bit of effort one can differentiate between real and fake, digest the arguments and references, then form an opinion.

Not to go off on a tangent, but neutering, and early neutering, continues to be a topic of heated debates. This is not only a medical/physiological decision; living environment and owner capabilities play a role as well. And, of course, there are exceptional medical or behavioral situations too.

Our personal decision was to keep our first boy intact, and most likely we will make the same decision for our new puppy.
But this was just our own decision, not an advice for anyone.
My advice would be to encourage thorough research, based on modern publications, evaluate own capacity (to prevent accidental matings, for example, to deal with a girl-dog in heat, or to socialize and train an intact male), and then to make the call whether to neuter or not, and if so - when.