Never Recoverd after surgery

What would make her die three days after having a ovhysterectomy.Dutchess went in full of life and she never came back .I walked her she played a little and then she started to go down hill.She developed diarrea (diarrhea) and vomiting I called the vet,I was told the anesthetic would cause her to be this way make sure she stays hydrated i told her she was vomiting also and she said the pain med was probly making her stomach sick.She died three hours later..What could have went wrong? I am so hart broken....

[Arnold L Goldman, D.V.M.]

Dear MzBethea,

I am so sorry to hear you have lost Dutchess, and especially in this way. While speculating on exactly why this occurred is impossible without complete medical information it certainly seems likely that her death is related to her procedure.

This can occur in several ways including but not limited to:

pre-existing but undetected liver abnormality which worsened with anesthesia
unexpected but adverse response to anesthethetic drugs, leading to liver dysfunction
episode of low blood pressure under anesthesia leading to organ (kidney) dysfunction
surgical complications such as excessive bleeding leading to low blood pressure
other surgical complications such as peritonitis (infection), internal bleeding, others

Again while there is nothing I can say to alleviate your sadness, I do share your grief.
During the course of my own career there also have been unexpected peri-anesthetic deaths and I can never forget any of them. Making that telephone call is dreadful and humbling. As long as I make an honest effort to look for all possible risks in advance and do all that can be done to ensure anesthetic safety during, as well as inform pet owners of the risks ahead of doing any procedure, I can look myself in the eye and keep on trying to help pets. The key has been to learn from every adverse event and not to make the same mistakes twice. Cutting corners is out too. Owners who want work done on the cheap by requesting elimination of "unnecessary" tests, I cannot serve. It may be that very test that identifies an anesthetic risk that can be minimized or avoided.

In this case, I cannot say what happened. For that answer, your doctor is the only one who can. Please accept my condolences.

Sincerely,

Arnold L. Goldman DVM, MS
MedHelp & PDOC