spay complications!!!

[laylasmom1]

My dog was spayed 5 days ago and day 2 she had frequent urination with very little coming out, took her to the vet who checked her pee. Had blood no bacteria but put her on antibiotics anyway. Layla was in heat when spayed and is bleeding vaginally, so unsure if blood is actually in urine or mixing when it comes out. Vet also gave iv fluids and antiinflammatory shot. Urinary problems went away that night. Next morning there was a blood tinged fluid coming out of the incision site and I took her back to the vet. Vet said it was fine and to keep her more calm(which is impossible because she lays down all day and night and only gets up to pee and I carry her in and out for that) So I took her home and watched it as it continued to ooze. Every movement causes it to ooze a little. Her vaginal bleeding also got a little heavier and is red brown in color, I continued to call the vet because I felt something was wrong and was told repeatedly it's fine it takes time to stop oozing and dogs can bleed vaginally 7-10 days. Also prescribed a heavy sedative to help her stay asleep and calm. At this point I have been syringe feeding and watering because she is disoriented and does not get up. Today she did eat a good bit and actively licked the syringe with water to get more. I am so scared about all of the bleeding and oozing so I consulted a second vet who said without doing anything other than a temp. which was normal, that she wanted to open her back up and see what is going on and it would be 1700!!! The spay, biopsy, and pathology was only 500! I was shocked at how quick she was willing to open her up without being able to really come up with a good reason why. Also my vet said the fluid was serous fluid from a seroma but there is no swelling and when I asked the second vet about it she didn't know what it was and changed the subject. So I of course left and did not have the surgery, but I am still scared. Is the oozing and vag. bleeding ok?

[ginger899]

You are right to ask these questions, you are right to not give up because you don't feel right about what they are telling you.

To be honest, I do have some experience with spaying (re: my own dog) but I do not have experience of these particular symptoms, and am not a vet.

There seems to be one good sign though....and that is her temperature is normal. If there was any post-surgical infection, it would probably cause some level of fever. (that of course is any temperature above 102 degrees in a dog.) One would also think that if it was a "stump pyometra" which had developed, that would also cause some fever, as pyometra surely does.
(But please -don't take my word as gospel, as I am not a vet as I said.)
But nevertheless, keep an eye on her temperature, using a thermometer which can be inserted anally, i.e. a glass/mercury thermometer which may still be available at a pharmacy. Only need to insert about one inch but put some vaseline on it first.

However she may still need some antibiotics even if she doesn't have a fever.

1700 (dollars? or pounds?) sounds quite a lot for an abdominal exploratory.

I know that some seepage can be pretty normal immediately following surgery. But increased bleeding, I don't think so. And....brown discharge? I am unsure. Serous fluid can sometimes come from a surgery site. Sometimes depending on what has been done, a drain is put in, and the fluid comes out via the drain. That can be quite normal. But if it is getting worse? Then that doesn't sound right.

The best thing I can suggest, is consult another vet. If the next vet says exactly the same thing as the 2nd one then you may feel more confident following their advice. But choose a good vet. I know that's hard right now as it has to be done quite quickly. Obey your instincts and see what reviews are available for vets in your area.

[ginger899]

Get her blood-work done. A full blood panel, but ask the vet to look out for her kidney function.
Sometimes, although the surgery for Pyometra is in tme to save the dog, and the dog recovers well from the surgery  -during the time just before surgery, there are a lot of toxins in the blood stream from the uterus infection.
This can put a lot of stress on the kidneys.

Is she drinking more water than usual? Or not?

If there is any kidney problem, it is better if it's addressed very quickly while it is still in very early stage.

But her incontinence could be caused by lack of tone in the muscles, which could be affected by her hormones suddenly taking a nose-dive.

You need to speak to the vet about this.

[annes123]

I had my dog spayed 6 day ago. She was doing fine and is recovering well so far, however today in the morning I've seen drops of blood around which she is cleaning after herself. The discharge is watery with some blood in it (sort of pale) but I am so concerned about it.
As I see, it is coming out of her vaginal channel. My Vet said the discharge is normal, and it should go away, but we're taking her to Vet tomorrow. Everywhere I read, they say, it's not normal so I'm really really concerned. She had a complicated operation, lasting around 3 hours and lost lots of blood, she was operated in heat cycle due pyometra. She eats well, normally drinks water, and is not letharhic. She of course rest a lot, but still eager to go out and do her thing, happy when seeing her friends.
We have been fighting with pyometra for around 2 months and I'm concerned she may be exhausted of it all already, even she is young (not even 2 years old).
She also has a thyroid problems, and is taking medication for it.

Does anybody have any sort of experience like this in recovering the dog?

[bess123]

My yorkie had her uterus removed due to mass infection,the operation went fine ,that was 2 weeks ago she has now started wetting herself in the nights,and just lying in it,I'm sure it is distressing her as she looks so sorry for herself when I go into the room,she is OK otherwise..

[Margot49]

You should have started a new post as this is pretty old.

It is possible if some ovarian tissue was left behind, however,mshe could possibly have a bladder or vaginal infection.
The best thing you can do is take her to the Vet for an exam and pose these questions there.  

[myshiboo]

My babies name is ShiLynn and she's bleeding a year after her spayed surgery. She went in for a routine spayed, and the Vet didn't tell me she was in heat until after the surgery was over and I asked why she was so Red. It took two weeks to a month for her swelling to go down, and now she's bleeding again.
ShiLynn had been licking her vaginal area for quit some time now, and I've been checking and stopping her to avoid infection.This time today it made me look even more because I noticed her swollen after her bath yesterday. I've been keeping my eyes on her to stop her from licking but today something was different and discovered she actually had blood coming out of her vagina.
I really can't take the stress of her being any type of ill. She'll be 2yrs old in January.
What could this be? Please help.

[ginger899]

There is niothing wrong with being concerned, and nothing wrong with asking questions about anything you do not understand. You love your dog and want to do the best for her.
I have recent experience of emergency spay surgery with my dog (who had sudden Pyometra) In her case, all went well with only the slightest little complication (a "sterile reaction" in the scar which healed fine in a few days) So I haven't the same experience as you.
If you are not sure of what your vet tells you there is no harm at all in seeking a second opinion from a completely different vet.
If the vet(s) are convinced there is no infection in the stump (which could probably be told from analysis of the vaginal discahrge) then the spotting should stop in time. Of course, if infection is suspected, then antibiotics are needed.
As for her scar -which you said is healing better now - if there is a breast tumor it can sometimes slightly interfere with healing of the scar, as it has its own blood supply and can sometimes cause local irritation. My dog has the same. She has a small benign tumor which the vet has decided to leave and not take off. But it was at that site that there was a little irritation initially.

[laylasmom1]

i took her back to the vet today and they did bloodwork,kidney test, and vaginal smear for free I guess because they saw how worried I've been ( i think i'm getting on their nerves) All was ok and they said her stump was twice the normal size because she was in heat and it would take time for it to all come out.Said incision looks good now, no more fluid. They also had the biopsy results(which they have had for 2 days) and her tumor is benign, but will turn cancerous so it has to come out at some point. I was so hoping there would be no more surgeries, she is miserable right now. But they said they would only do the surgery if I boarded her for at least a week this time, which is irritating. I know I called a lot and am a worrywart but isn't that what i pay them thousands of dollars for. I would rather ask questions that aren't necessary then ask none and maybe ignore something deadly. So anyway layla is sedated and sleeping and seems ok, but i will give updates because I had a really hard time finding a conclusion to anyone elses story online, so maybe this will help another worried pet parent! Thanks for your replies! It is so scary when you don't know what is going on.

[laylasmom1]

She was spayed and had a biopsy done because she has a tumor on her breast. The vet said it was important to get the biopsy now and said she was confident the surgery would still be ok. The leaking from the incision has stopped today, but the vaginal bleeding is still coming out. It is a muddy red color, like old blood and the vet said they don't get concerned over old blood only bright red blood. I am taking her back in today, but it doesn't seem normal to me this many days after having her female parts removed to still be bleeding from down there. It is not a huge amount, but it leaves spots everytime she moves on my bed. If anyone has any experience with this please help. I want to trust my vet but it doesn't seem normal. But she is eating REALLY good now and has an appetite like never before and is staying hydrated. I am still keeping her sedated so she stays still, which seems to have helped the incision, but not the vag. bleeding. I don't know what to do.

[ginger899]

I am sorry your dog has these problems after her surgery.
You didn't say why she was spayed in the first place? Was there some infection or problem with her uterus or ovaries? Did she have Pyometra? Or was it a routine spaying? The reason I ask is a routine spaying is not normally done when the dog is on heat, but in between cycles. The only reason for doing this surgery while she was on heat would have been an emergency situation, or a situation where there was infection, and surgery was the best option to combat it.

There usually is a very slight leakage of straw-coloured or slightly bloodstained watery discharge straight after the surgery, but this should not be a lot of fluid, and it should not be actual blood, and it should clear up after a day or so.

Also, with regard to the drainage taking place on her surgery scar...did the vet tell you whether he thought this was infection at the incision site? Or what is called a "sterile reaction" (which is a slight inflammation/allergy caused by the suture material.) If this occurs at all, it presents with some swelling of all or part of the scar, and some redness. At that stage it is usually left alone, and often clears in a few days as the sutures break down (it did with my dog, who developed a mild reaction to the sutures, with a little redness and swelling along about 2" of her scar, for about 4 days to 1 week after her surgery) But occasionally the skin can break, and fluid can leak. At that point there can be an option to remove certain parts of the suture material (such as tiny knots etc,) which can often be sites of the "sterile reaction". If so, then obviously a light general anesthetic is needed.

But if there is infection of the scar, then the obvious course is antibiotics. Likewise, if the vet suspects there may be some residual infection from the reason the spaying surgery was recommended in the first place. Sometimes IV fluids are recommended too, which may mean hospitalisation for a day or two. The reason for that is to make sure the kidneys are well flushed, and not stressed by any toxins.

[HemiSyd]

Many complications can and do occur in association with having an animal spayed. Some of these include abnormal reactions to anesthesia (on rare occasions even leading to death), bleeding, stitches breaking or pulling out, and infections.

Occasionally, animals will have long term effects to their health mainly associated with the hormonal changes after removing the reproductive organs. These may include weight gain, urinary incontinence, or decreased stamina.

These problems may occur years after an animal has been spayed (apparently)... It has to be said that the practice is so widely carried out complications ARE unsusual but not impossible.


Bleeding, either from the incision site or from the vagina hours to days after a spay, should be reported to a veterinarian immediately. It is possible, though not common, for a dog to bleed to death after being spayed. Infections can occur either locally at the incision site, or generally, affecting the entire body. Local incision infections are much more common and are often associated with the dog licking or biting at her stitches. Local infections appear within days of the surgery as a swollen, red, and tender incision line, sometimes with a clear to cloudy discharge. Minor infections can often be treated with antibiotics and by restraining the dog from licking the incision. Severe local infections may require another surgery to repair and re-stitch. General infections appear hours to days after the surgery and may cause the dog to be listless, disinterested in food or water, and display pain upon handling. She may also have a fever, experience vomiting or diarrhea, and have generalized weakness. General infections usually require hospitalization and supportive care at the hands of a veterinarian.

You need to take her for the surgery in my opinion... Good luck.