A week ago I had to take my dog to the vet. She was having puppies and complications. She needed a c section. One week to the day I cam home to find her dead, her guts had all come out. I havnt paid this vet yet, but I want to know if this is possable if an animal is sewn up correctly. It is my understanding that the stomache muscle has to be closed up and then the skin, using separate stitches. This was not the case with my dog. Please dont answer or comment if you dont anything about how to properly stitch up an animal.
2006-07-19 07:48:20 · 7 answers · asked by tjkennels 2 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Yes I believe it was an accident. She obviously licked her stitches until they unraveled. It was one long strand rather then several stitches. Thats what gets me. I have never heard of this happening and I have been dealing with dogs all my life. It shouldnt be possable.
2006-07-19 08:02:37 · update #1
I only wish I had put a cone on her. I deliberately didnt so she could tend to her puppies.
2006-07-19 08:17:54 · update #2
No the vet never instructed me on anything, no cone, no care. I know how to care for them and didnt need instruction but that wasnt the point. She was given to me to take home still anesthatised. She came around about 3 hours later. I had cleaned up her incision that morning she looked fine. There was a lack of healing but I figured it was due to the puppies pulling on her teets. I have had problems with stitching in the past with another dog. She had to be restitched 3X's even with a cone. So i was careful. But I wasnt expecting something like that. She walked around and layed down in several spots before she died. This was in a matter of hours all while I was gone. She was confined but I guess I wasnt careful enouph. I just wanted to know if the fault was mine or I have a bad vet. I cant ask him, of coarse he'll say it was me.
2006-07-19 10:24:45 · update #3
First I'd like to say that I am sorry for your loss. I would never want to even imagine coming home to one of my dogs dead. As far as suturing an animal, the muscles are in fact sutured with one long piece of suture material. Then there is another layer that they normally suture called the lineare (probably not spelled right) Then the outer layer is normally sutured with many different pieces. Or by using staples. It would have been impossible for the animal to even walk out of the door with out the muscles sutured together. The weight of the intestines, spleen, liver etc would have been too heavy for the skin and suture to hold properly. You would have noticed the instant she walked out of the office. I've been working in the vet field for a few years now and I have seen some females come back in the clinic that has been entirely too active, or sutures that have been chewed out. No matter how domesticated an dog is, it is still an animal and I would put nothing past them. Again I am sorry for your loss. But I do believe the Veternarian did properly suture your dog up.
2006-07-19 08:57:58 · answer #1 · answered by all4dobes 2 · 18⤊ 4⤋
It is true that the stomach muscles are stitched before the skin is sutured with seperate stitches, unless there were any complications that would prevent this method. It is fairly uncommon for stitches to come out of their own accord, and highly unlikely after a week because some healing will already have started to take place which would mean that the incision would have been itchy and hence her desire to lick the area. I assume that her body has been dealt with by now so that there is no way to assess how she was stiched up by this vet. A cone would have prevented her from doing that, but if she hadn't been licking it with you around for a week you might not have seen the need for one. I would check with the vet and get his/her opinion on what happened. If she did lick her stitches out and the vet's instructed you to keep a cone on her then I would think it would be hard to find them liable.
So sorry for your loss, its very sad.
2006-07-19 08:50:49 · answer #2 · answered by Animal Lover 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe animals have a strong survival instinct and for a dog to disembowel itself would be extremely hard to do. The only way for it to do that would be for it to be an accident. Were there any sharp objects or anything that could have possibly served as an implement of disembowelment?
If not, then the conclusion is that the veterinarian did NOT do an adequate job of closing their stitches or there was some unforeseen complication. Either way, you need to get an explanation from the veterinarian and if you feel it necessary, be prepared to sue. A veterinarian that doesn't even know how to stitch up an animal after major surgery should not be practicing-- I'm surprised she still has a license.
2006-07-19 07:54:24 · answer #3 · answered by Esh F 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are correct about the proper way to close up a c-section. It's done the same way for animals as it is for humans. The vet had to have screwed up. From your description, it sounds like just the skin was stitched.
2006-07-19 08:50:36 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I do actually know of one dog who ripped her stitches out after being spayed and basically disemboweled herself. She lived behind a friend of mine, and was a very hyper, out-of control sort of dog. Amazingly, she lived, her owners were able to get her to the vet right away, but she lost a lot of her intestines.
2006-07-19 08:47:39 · answer #5 · answered by DaBasset - BYBs kill dogs 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What a horrer! and a litter of orphans to try to save too.
Had it happen to me with a spay insision, fortunatly there had been enough time for the insision to heal enough to hold long enough for me to get there with a ton of tape & hussle her to the vet. (yes, it was one long suture)
2006-07-19 08:44:54 · answer #6 · answered by ragapple 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Law suit.
2006-07-19 07:54:24 · answer #7 · answered by wtfapricot 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋