Poor Baby

[leih merigian]

My Geyser got spayed today. Poor thing .

I did end up getting that laparascopic-assisted ovairectomy I wanted to do for her. Man, was it ever expensive! But, I just believe so much that this was the right way to go that it was worth it to me.

The specialist who did the surgery said that in 10 years, this will be the way it's done, and no one will be taking uteri out (is that the plural of uterus? )

When I dropped her off this morning, the surgeon told me he'd call as soon as she was finished. That was 9:30AM. By 12:30, with no word, I was starting to have scary little thoughts start to creep in at the edges of my brain (I am a big believer in cognitive behavior management, not borrowing problems, all that positive crap, but still, that's my baby ). Of some concern to me was how her lung condition would do with the anesthetic.

So, at 12:35, I'm on the phone...she'd been out of surgery for about 15 minutes and was doing just great. Yay. I could expect to pick her up around 4PM. Double yay.

Here's the really funny part...I was fine all morning. Then, once I knew she was fine, I started having stomach symptoms...burning, nausea...just very ill feeling I don't somatasize like this when I have surgery

Finally, it was time to go pick her up. Still felt ill...then had the debriefing with the tech, and then the surgeon...and by then, feeling better.

Once I got us out to my truck and her loaded up, I was smiling and feeling just fine . Cracks me up, tho.

Here's a funny one...in addition to the post-surgical instructions, pain meds, etc., they had this little jar for me with her ovaries in it . I opened it up to check them out, as I find it all very interesting, and they looked much larger than I had expected, then I screwed the lid back on and said, "You can dispose of them...cool to see them, but I'm not gonna cook them up and I don't need to have them living in my fridge..."

Geyser was pretty shell-shocked for a couple of hours. Of course, she's very quiet tonite. But she started wagging her tail a little while ago and greeted her daddy with joy (an emotion! ) Tomorrow, I'll get some pics of her tummy...what a shave job! It's kinda cool, as it looks like the black stirpes are on her skin itself. But, just in case anyone wants to see the tiny little incisions they get from this procedure (the only stitches she has are internal).

Now the fun of a week of inactivity/leash restrictions, and just in time for us to turn around and trade spaces

[felixone123]

So glad to hear that BOTH of you are doing ok!!! She was probably worried about you too, especially since you guys are so close.

Wow - that's amazing about the surgery. Sounds like it was non-invasive. Yes, pics please. I want to see those stripes on her skin. Maybe a little doggie ice cream tomorrow?????

[Lauren]

I am glad that Geyser is home and doing well! It is worrisome waiting on that "all's well" call.

I have been very interested in this for Miss X too. Will Geyser still go into season? Why can't they just tie the tubes and leave the ovaries in there for hormones? How much more expensive (if you don't mind my asking?)?

Give her a virtual hug from us!

[Sugars Mom]

Glad to hear it went well.Keep us posted about how she is.

About the shaving and seeing the stripes on her skin...when Sugar had been shaved for her surgery for her broken leg, it was very interesting to see that the skin was "brindle", and that is was not just the fur that was brindle. Something I did not know before seeing that. Cool, eh?

[Schlussdibusti]

Glad to her everything went well.

[wahinelf]

Yay! Glad it went well. Yah, that feeling around midday after not hearing back puts me on edge.

Also, being on the other side of this...we know its ridiculous when we tell people they have to keep their freshly spayed, neutered pups to keep quiet for a week or two.

[leih merigian]

I have been very interested in this for Miss X too. Will Geyser still go into season? Why can't they just tie the tubes and leave the ovaries in there for hormones? How much more expensive (if you don't mind my asking?)?

Give her a virtual hug from us!

She says "thanks!" for the hug

Nope, she'll never go into season again. The whole point of removing the ovaires is to remove hormones from the picture. That's why it's OK to leave the uterus in; the tumors and things that eventually can develop in the uterus are caused by hormones, so no ovaries, no hormones, no need to remove the uterus, which is a much less invasive thing.

I'm sure they could do a tubal ligation, theoretically, but what's the point? You continue to have the influence of hormones, which means you'll have heat cycles, but no possibility of pregnancy, and por qua? You'll thus end up with a dog that can't get pregnant, but who will suffer any consequeces of the hormonal action on the uterus over time, not to mention the PITA aspects of going thru those heat cycles .

I wanted Geyser to have the benefits of her hormones until she was at least 14 months old, for the skeletal maturation and other related things, but then, out they go! With her, the way her heat cycles fell, she ended going thru two heats, and so had her spay at 20 months.

Also, FWIW, when you spay a bitch, you want to wait until her hormones have normalized after the last heat cycle, at least two months. We hit it right at three months, which is also perfect. Once the hormones start ramping up again for the next cycle, it's not a good idea to do it.

Cost...in my area, a laser assisted spay (which is the typical total hysterectomy) done by a regular vet is around $500-$600. Geyser's surgery, which was done by a specialist surgeon, was (take a very deep breath; I about died...) $1554.54. There was a regular vet in MD where I considered taking her for this procedure, who charges $966, plus bloodwork and pre-op exam, so if you find a regular vet who has this skill set and equipment, it's still cheaper than the specalist surgeon will be. And, the vet school here in Blacksburg, at Virginia Tech, quoted me a price of "around $800," but wouldn't guarantee that a student wouldn't be working on her.

Risks: Since the dog isn't open with the typical incision, stopping any little bleeders is a different process, so there can be some bleeding issues (she had none). And, the ovaries can be difficult to find with the laparascope, or they can be behind a spleen that is difficult to move with the scope, or they can be attached in such a way that the surgeon will end up having to do a regular incision to get at them. I don't think these are very typical outcomes, but they are risks, as every surgery has.

[leih merigian]

Picture time!

Here is one of the incisions:



And another of the incisions:



Skin stripes! These just blew me alway



And more stripes...



Once she got home...

Where am I? Who am I again?
Frontal view



Rear view...

[felixone123]

She looks good, Leih!! I love her hair cut and those stripes are really cool. Nice incisions - very tiny and no stitches for her to lick.
How is she doing?

[Dutchringgirl]

glad everyone is okay!! Although she looks a bit queezy in the front photo.

[Lauren]

Wow. that is a good chunk of change. I about fell out of my chair at the 500-600.00 regular spay, too.

Around here they go for about 100.00, you can get a 20.00 off coupon at the shelter, or send your dog off at the low cost..18.00 (including shots). I am feeling lucky!

Taking out just the ovaries makes a lot more sense than taking out the uterus OR the tubal... Why don't they do it more often?

I like her little stripey crew cut!

[leih merigian]

She's back to her normal self today, which means lots of fun keeping her quiet and her being frustrated . Too freaking bad

Laruen, you can go to the SPCA here and get a cheap spay, too, if you qualify financially. We would . But, even if I didn't do this procedure, I'd've wanted to do the laser one. It's much better than a scalpel; less bleeding, less injury to tissue, quicker healing.

As far as why more people don't do ovariectomies now, it's new, so there is the battle with The Way It's Always Been Done. Also, spays and neuters are the bread and butter for vets, and they're not up to speed on this surgery yet. So, my guess is that until they get trained in doing it, with or without the laparascope, then start promoting it to their clients, it won't be popular except with people who like to do their own research and make their own decisions. Even so, this information wasn't available 12 years ago when I spayed my GSD, and vets weren't using lasers then, either. There have been a lot of developments in veterinary medicine, just like human medicine.

She's one lucky little stinker, that's for sure

[Marjolein]

glad she is doing well! And you too
I LOVE the skin stripes, whahaha!

[leih merigian]

glad she is doing well! And you too
I LOVE the skin stripes, whahaha!

She's doing well enough to have pulled me over, while going downhill in the rain this morning . Ended up with bruised or cracked ribs just in time for needing a walker in a few weeks

You can bet she got a little refresher course this afternoon about walking on lead and not hitting the end of it, EVER

[felixone123]

ouch!! sorry to hear about your ribs. that can be painful. hope you are ok.

[Dutchringgirl]

She cracked your rib?? Oh no! Im glad she is feeling better though.

[leih merigian]

I'm fine...it only hurts when I laugh...or breathe, or sneeze, or use my right arm

[vneerland]

Oh...missed this topic until now. Welcome back home G, and great to hear you're going to live too, L.

[Sugars Mom]

Yikes! I hope you feel better soon!

Why is it they always want to do more then they are supposed to?

[MeganBays]

How cool with the skin stripes! I totally didn't know that.. Has me wondering what my dark brindle dogs would look like...