Help after Spaying

[Rebecca Dalton]

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Hey Guys,

My Friends bitch has just been spayed, she is a Saluki/whippet and has always been lean and fit. However, he dropped her off at the rescue he got her from to get spayed, picked her up 24hrs later and she now looks completely emaciated. Her hipbones and spine are protruding and her ribcage is hugely visible. Having never had a bitch myself I'm not sure if this is normal? It doesn't seem right to me and the rescue also didn't give him any info about her stitches, a cone or recovery times etc. Shes eating normally but I think he should take her to his own vet but don't want to freak him out too much as he's very worried about her! Any help or advice greatly welcomed!

 

[JoanneF]

He should at least have been told when to go back to get her stitches out - normally after surgery that would be about ten days later. A cone can be a bit cumbersome, but does stop the dog worrying the wound. Alternatives if he prefers are an inflatable cone, as long as that stops her reaching the wound, or a child's onesie or romper suit (do they still call them that?) to cover the wound.

If he is concerned about the sudden weight loss maybe he could ring the rescue who did the spay, or his vet. I haven't had a female either and it doesn't seem right but she probably didn't eat much yesterday - although would that short timescale have been enough to drop that weight?

 

[Rebecca Dalton]

Thank you Joanne, I have made her a wee jumper from some old jammies to keep her warm and away from the wound as shes freezing now! Its definitely the weight loss that is more of a concern as its so sudden and dramatic, I was totally shocked at how she had changed within 24hrs, I'll tell him to ring the vet asap!

 

[leashedForLife]

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Dramatic "wt-loss" in a 24-hr period is definitely abnormal, AND it's more-likely that she's dehydrated... rather than loss of muscle-tissue & fat, which doesn't literally happen 'overnite', she's probly lost WATER - & sudden water-loss is more of a crisis than "wt-loss".
It doesn't sound like anything directly related to her OHE / spay - did she have diarrhea, B4 or after her spay?
Did she vomit, B4 or after surgery?
Was she denied water as well as food, while she was fasted for 12-hrs prior to surgery?

If she's lost that much water, she's also lost the accompanying electrolytes - the ions carried by that water, when it was in her body. // Electrolytes are critical for many body functions, such as heart contractions & other muscle work.

The vet is definitely the person to consult, ASAP - they can give her sub-Q fluids that include the electrolytes she needs, or even give her a trickle IV, which might require sedation. // She should turn for the better very, very quickly, once she's rehydrated.

Unless she was on a knife-edge of lean muscle [like a fighting-wt pit-type], she couldn't lose that much muscle-mass to look "emaciated" in just one day. But water-loss can cause dramatic changes in muscle & skin; a dehydrated animal will even have sunken eyes, they look awful, & it's an urgent vet-emergency.
The flip side is that they recover very fast.

- terry

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[Rebecca Dalton]

Thank you Terry, this is very helpful! As she was with the rescue we do not know if she was denied any water beforehand! She did vomit after she came home and didn't want to eat or drink until the next day! We'll get her to the Vet ASAP!!

 

[Violet Turner]

Any update?

 

[Rebecca Dalton]

She was put on a drip overnight and is far better today, she looks better and is much more herself! Thank you for all your help!

 

[leashedForLife]

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good to hear! thanks for that.

BTW, for future ref, all sighthounds need lower dosages for GA, & they're at higher risk for anaesthetic complications than dogs with more fat in their body-mass. // Dogs with higher BMIs can metabolize the drugs & gases faster & easier, while Greyhounds, Saluki, IWs, etc, struggle to metabolize the meds, & can have a lingering "hangover" from any GA, in particular.
Any vet should already be aware of this, but it doesn't hurt to remind them - the dog may have been too dopey to drink adequately, after her surgery & GA.

Gas is always safer than injection anaesthetics -- Isofluorane has an excellent record for safety, & the patient can be quickly brought up to alertness by reducing the gas concentration, or adding a trickle of O2 to the mix.

I'd ask if her spay was done under ketamine - if so, i'd ask my own vet to try not to use that, in future. // Ketamine is actually a paralytic, not an anaesthetic, but it's cheap, & some vets use it as a preference. The patient can *FEEL* everything - they just can't escape it.
Ketamine also takes considerable time to exit the body.

GA as a rule really impacts the adrenal glands, which makes us sluggish & fatigued post-surgery. // It takes 3 to 5 days, sometimes a week, to completely rebound from GA, as the adrenals come back on-line & begin producing adrenaline again.
Glad she's much better,
- terry

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[JudyN]

Good points, Terry - as well as needing less anaesthetic, sighthounds also need different anaesthetics. Thiobarbiturates can be dangerous, though I think my vet said he would just use a very small amount of that rather than none at all (I really can't remember the details though). I know someone who lost her lurcher under anaesthesia because the vet thought they knew better than she did.

 

[Teddy560]

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good to hear! thanks for that.

BTW, for future ref, all sighthounds need lower dosages for GA, & they're at higher risk for anaesthetic complications than dogs with more fat in their body-mass. // Dogs with higher BMIs can metabolize the drugs & gases faster & easier, while Greyhounds, Saluki, IWs, etc, struggle to metabolize the meds, & can have a lingering "hangover" from any GA, in particular.
Any vet should already be aware of this, but it doesn't hurt to remind them - the dog may have been too dopey to drink adequately, after her surgery & GA.

Gas is always safer than injection anaesthetics -- Isofluorane has an excellent record for safety, & the patient can be quickly brought up to alertness by reducing the gas concentration, or adding a trickle of O2 to the mix.

I'd ask if her spay was done under ketamine - if so, i'd ask my own vet to try not to use that, in future. // Ketamine is actually a paralytic, not an anaesthetic, but it's cheap, & some vets use it as a preference. The patient can *FEEL* everything - they just can't escape it.
Ketamine also takes considerable time to exit the body.

GA as a rule really impacts the adrenal glands, which makes us sluggish & fatigued post-surgery. // It takes 3 to 5 days, sometimes a week, to completely rebound from GA, as the adrenals come back on-line & begin producing adrenaline again.
Glad she's much better,
- terry

.

Wow! That's awful about the ketamine, thanks for that info. Will definitely be asking what they are using in future.

 

[Violet Turner]

She was put on a drip overnight and is far better today, she looks better and is much more herself! Thank you for all your help!

What actually was wrong?