Moral dilemma with my Vet


Miggymeister

New Member
On the Saturday morning of Labor day weekend I noticed my Miggy was straining to urinate and there was a little blood in it. I had 20 minutes to get to the vet before they closed so I drove like a bat out of hell to get there.

My vet- the nice, older one who has lived in my small city for decades) told me, sure enough- we needed to schedule surgery for the Tuesday morning after Labor Day.

I asked approximately how much the cost would be ( my ex husband is kind enough to pick up the tab- she was a gift to me by him 10 years ago) and was told about $500. I lost my job in February.

By 3 PM on Tuesday I still had received no call so I went down there and she was in a kennel with a bone-dry IV drip. They also showed me the bladder stone. It was golf ball size with very sharp, pointy edges. I will try and insert a picture.

On Wednesday I picked her up to take her home and she seemed happy and peed all over the yard like her old self.

Wednesday night she ate the Royal Canine special diet they had me purchase and at some point after peeing all over the bed, got down the stairs that lead her to my bed and threw up the entire amount I served her.

Thursday morning I took her out first thing and noticed that she didn't pee a single drop but there was long, string mucus coming from her rectum.

I immediately took her back to the vets and the nurses told me that the doctors always took Thursdays off but they would hook her back up to the IV so they could see her on Friday morning.

I went in to visit her on Friday but the vets were all in emergency surgery. I noticed she hadn't eaten a thing and once again her IV was bone dry. The tech assured me they were getting ready to change it. They had put a water bowl and that nasty food she hated into her cage. It had been there for several hours. I asked the nurse if she had eaten any of it and she said no- that she had filled it to a certain level when she got to work at 7 AM and that she hadn't drank anything either.

So by now she hasn't had any food or water since Monday night before surgery-4 days.

After reading TONS of information on bladder stones that week I knew that most dogs appetite returns in 2 days and they are released. It is a very common surgery with a high success rate.

The vet said he thought he'd draw some bloodwork to make sure all of her vital signs were good. I didn't get a chance to ask the cost before he bolted out of the room. He assured me she was okay.

I took her back home, vowing to keep her very still and coax her into eating and peeing. She wet the bed a couple of more times that night.

So Saturday morning I called the receptionist and told her I was bringing her back in. She told me to bring the medications and the special Royal Canine back in with me. The one vet (there are normally two) was running around frantically and stopped long enough to basically ask what I needed (VERY rudely) as he was terribly busy and they closed at noon. I reminded him that we were going on 5+ days where she hadn't eaten. He said he knew that and it wasn't a common symptom at all. He asked if I brought cooked chicken or bland hamburger to try and feed her and I said, "No. I just brought the things in that I was told to. He kind of rolled his eyes and scolded me that it was imperative that we get some food and water into her and to run to the closest store and get some. All they had was that stupid pressed chicken that you put on sandwiches and Oscar Myer hotdogs that I occasionally give her as a treat.

When I returned from the store the vet was already gone to the local football game.

On Sunday morning (yesterday) while the morning tech girls were there I asked if I could take her for a short walk in the sunshine. One of the girls was really excited because Miggy had eaten the pieces of hot dogs I left for her. She poo'd just a little.

But when I took her out of the kennel she clearly weighed several pounds over her normal weight. She looked like that Oompa Loompa girl from Willie Wonka- like she was going to pop any minute. If the vet had even picked her up that morning he would have noticed. In fact he probably would have noticed on Friday. Don't they keep weight charts at these places???

Well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if a dog hasn't eaten or drank for a week yet gained several pounds over her 14 pound normal weight then SOMETHING is wrong. I was PISSED! Obviously fluid from the IV drip was not going out the proper way and her urine was being reabsorbed into her body.

I asked the nurse if she knew how to express some of the fluid from the body and she promised to call the vet and then call me back- which she never did.

This morning I was there first thing and the mean vet explained exactly what I already knew was happening. I asked if I could take her home and he said, "NO!" I just re-did the entire surgery like we did Tuesday so she'll have to stay here a couple of more days ($75 a day). He also said he ran more blood work and put her on more medications/antibiotics at $75 a day.

He told me that at least one of the sutures inside her bladder had ruptured and that he drained all the fluid out of her belly button.

Her little body DID look much better.

But here's my question. He told me that he's performed over a 1000 of these bladder stone removals and that his dad has probably performed over 5000 in his lifetime and they've never seen this happen to a dog.

He kept saying, "Sometimes these things just happen but this time I'm going to use some kind of laser apparatus that will strengthen her bladder wall."

Well, I'll tell you what I think happened. Every time I go in there their grand kids (they are very sweet children but they treat the place like it's a playground) are running all over the place and it's pure chaos. I think he just didn't put enough stitches in her or otherwise got distracted.

My problem is that what started out as a generous gift from my ex and his new wife is probably going to end up costing well over $2000 and I don't think we should have to pay for the second surgery.

Not to mention the pain poor Miggy's been in. Yes, I KNOW things sometimes "just happen" but Miggy's never been sick a day in her life and she's no spring chick anymore. I just pray to God this goes right this time.
One of those surgeries is enough but TWO in a week?

I would like your opinion. If I get that 2nd bill I want to draw a line on the invoice below the $800 it shows I paid for it. Does anyone else have any other ideas?

Every time I go in there I think it might be the last time I see her alive and she just stares at me like, "WHY are you doing this to me?" It's breaking my heart. :(
 

maarowak

New Member
Not sure about how this works in the US, but if they didn't let you know beforehand of the risks of the surgery, too bad, medical error, they should at least cover the surgery. Not fair on your girl.

And, imho, you should take her to another vet, with a lil bit more heart and professionalism, to see if everything is truly alright.
 

babysis

New Member
Go to a different vet. Here in the US they are to tell of the risks before surgery on animals. Unless it is an emergency, they are to do blood work to see if the animal is ready for surgery or if they are not able to have surgery. It sounds like this vet screwed up and is trying to cover his backside. I really hope everything turned out good for you. Keep us updated.
 
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