 |
 |
 |
|
| In heat and spayed? |
| |
| An incomplete spay in a dog named Ashley!
Ashley, an eight year old mixed breed dog, came to us for her first visit back in August of 2006. It was a routine visit for vaccines and evaluation of a fatty tumor she had growing around her rectum. Ashley had been “inherited” from a family member, so some of her medical history was not known. A few weeks later, we removed a fatty tumor from her anal area without incident. A month after that, the owner’s presented her for swelling of her vagina and apparent irritation occurring in that area. Exam revealed a swollen vagina, small amount of blood around its edges, and possibly slight swelling of her mammary glands. We took a swab sample from inside of her vaginal canal and it appeared that she was in heat. But how could this be? She was supposedly spayed prior to the new owner’s acquiring her, and a scar on her belly supported this history. We decided to treat her for a possible vaginitis infection. She was put on antibiotics and a couple of weeks later, the swelling, irritation and discharge had subsided.
In January of 2007, she was brought in by her owners with the complaint of recurrent, episodic vomiting. She was otherwise acting fine, but would periodically get nauseous, sometimes vomiting food, sometime bile. We took x-rays and noted an unusual soft tissue density on the left side of her abdomen near her left kidney. Unable to determine whether it was a tumor or fluid filled cyst, we performed an abdominal ultrasound. The ultrasound revealed a large (3 inches in diameter) fluid filled structure just behind the left kidney. This is the area the ovary typically resides in. Could this be the cause of her vomiting as well as the “heat” episode she had several months ago?
After discussing the situation with the owners we all agreed an exploratory surgery was in her best interest. We did pre-anesthetic blood tests that were found to be normal, set an IV catheter and administered fluids to her and then put her under a general anesthetic. When we got into the abdomen, we found a very unusual surprise. Apparently, her left ovary and approximately 3 inches of her left uterine horn had been left behind. This uterine horn was filled with fluid that we ultimately classified as pus and infection. Removing the ovary and remaining uterus, we now considered Ashley truly spayed. We explored the remainder of the abdomen to see if there was any other residual reproductive tissue left behind, but found none.
Ashley recovered from surgery uneventfully and went home the next day. We are confident she will no longer exhibit the signs of heat any longer, and are hopeful there will be no more vomiting episodes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
