Yesterday sucked but it almost sucked a lot worse. I took Bel Air in to the vet to have her spayed. I dropped her of at 0700 and was told I'd be able to pick her up about 1530. I called and they said that surgery went well, but she was still too groggy and I should call and see about picking her up at 1900. At 1900 she still wouldn't eat and was very lethargic and was told to call at 2100. At 2100, it was the same thing and they now wanted to keep her overnight. About 0100 today, the phone rang and I knew that it could only be bad news from the vet. Bel Air's temperature had dropped to 94 (should be over 100) and they wanted to do more blood work and X-rays. I told them to get started and I'd be on my way.
I got there and Bel Air was so far gone, she didn't even seem to realize that I was there. She was barely alive and wasn't even blinking her eyes. X-rays eventually showed that she was bleeding out internally. I gave them the go ahead to open her up and try to find/fix the problem. It was obvious that they didn't expect her to survive the surgery. The vet tech was crying when she gave me the release form to sign to allow more surgery. They sent me home because it would be a few hours before they could tell me anything.
At 0630 today, I got a call that surgery had gone well. She had been bleeding at one of the internal sutures and they think they fixed it. Her temperature was rising and she seemed to be acting more alert than before. I just got off the phone with the vet and she's weak but stable. She'll spend one more night there just to be cautious, but she's going to be OK.
My next issue to deal with will be the bill. It sound to me, as a layman, that they botched the original surgery. The bill will probably run more than $1000 more than a normal spaying. I'm not mad at them. Mistakes happen. However it doesn't sound fair that I should have to pay all the extra expenses incurred since it seems like the original sutures were done improperly. opinions?
I got there and Bel Air was so far gone, she didn't even seem to realize that I was there. She was barely alive and wasn't even blinking her eyes. X-rays eventually showed that she was bleeding out internally. I gave them the go ahead to open her up and try to find/fix the problem. It was obvious that they didn't expect her to survive the surgery. The vet tech was crying when she gave me the release form to sign to allow more surgery. They sent me home because it would be a few hours before they could tell me anything.
At 0630 today, I got a call that surgery had gone well. She had been bleeding at one of the internal sutures and they think they fixed it. Her temperature was rising and she seemed to be acting more alert than before. I just got off the phone with the vet and she's weak but stable. She'll spend one more night there just to be cautious, but she's going to be OK.
My next issue to deal with will be the bill. It sound to me, as a layman, that they botched the original surgery. The bill will probably run more than $1000 more than a normal spaying. I'm not mad at them. Mistakes happen. However it doesn't sound fair that I should have to pay all the extra expenses incurred since it seems like the original sutures were done improperly. opinions?
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Well, I'm glad that she is doing better! Thats so scary...I had a scare with my dog when I took her to get her shots and I seriously thought that she was going to die...it was horrible!
Since it was the vets fault, shouldn't they pay for it?...They didnt charge me when my dog got sick. You know that they now have pet insurance, right?
In response to your comment: it is not impossible for an internal suture to come loose, break, etc and lead to internal hemorrhage, however it is a rare circumstance indeed. In my 3+ years teching fulltime I have seen this occur twice. Generally this happens when the DVM doesn't ligate the "stumps" more than once, though it can occur even when the procedure is performed correctly, or when the wrong size suture is used for ligation. Though the reasons why are many, those are just the most common. It's purely speculation whether or not your vet is actually at fault for medical negligence, as you werent there for the procedure. Also, after general anesthesia it is not abnormal for an animal's temperature to fall as low as 94, though it certainly isn't good for them. Most clinics use a circulating water blanket during surgery to maintain proper body temp, and monitor the animals rectal temperature every 5-10 minutes to prevent it from falling so low. It's awesome they cut you a break on your bill, many vets wouldn't bother...sounds like you have a good one. And damn that is a cute puppy