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Suzanne Cannon | 5 years ago
Ollie’s Feline Neuter
Treatment Cost (USD): $100.00
Ollie is a barn kitten who was rescued by his current owner. He now lives indoors and gets regular veterinary care. When Ollie was about 6 months old his owner brought him to Jarrettsville Veterinary Center to be neutered.
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Suzanne Cannon | 5 years ago
Feline Neuter Surgery For Oliver
Treatment Cost (USD): $100.00
Oliver is a 6 month old kitten who underwent neuter surgery.
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Suzanne Cannon | 5 years ago
Ellie’s Story: Feline Spay Surgery (OHE)
Treatment Cost (USD): $206.00
Ellie is a longhaired calico cat who was brought in for a spay surgery (OHE, or ovariohysterectomy) when she was 7 months old.
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Suzanne Cannon | 5 years ago
Feline Spay (OHE) For Harley
Treatment Cost (USD): $188.00
Harley was a stray who was found at the beach when she was about a year old. Harley's mom brought her to Jarrettsville Veterinary Center for her spay surgery (OHE, or ovariohysterectomy.)
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Suzanne Cannon | 5 years ago
Allie’s Story: Feline Spay (OHE) In 1 Year Old Domestic Shorthair Cat
Treatment Cost (USD): $188.00
Allie was a stray kitten who was found on a neighbor's porch. Her owner took her in to care for her, and brought her in to be spayed when she was a little over a year old.
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Suzanne Cannon | 5 years ago
Bailey’s Story: Feline Spay Surgery (OHE) In 7 Month Old Domestic Shorthair Cat
Treatment Cost (USD): $173.00
Bailey is a 7 month old kitten who presented to the clinic for a spay surgery (OHE, or ovariohysterectomy.)
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Suzanne Cannon | 5 years ago
Feline Spay (OHE) For Mary, An 8 Month Old Domestic Shorthair Cat
Treatment Cost (USD): $228.00
Mary is an 8 month old domestic shorthair cat that presented to the clinic for a spay (OHE, or ovariohysterectomy) surgery.
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Suzanne Cannon | 5 years ago
Feline Spay (OHE) In 10-Month Old Kitten: Prudence
Treatment Cost (USD): $206.00
Prudence, a 10-month old domestic shorthair tabby cat, presented to the clinic for a spay (ovariohysterectomy or OHE) surgery.
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Question
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Laurie Sites | 5 years ago
Foreign Object On Ultrasound After Surgery? My Cat Had A Bilateral Chain Mastectomy 5 Months Ago After …

Foreign object on ultrasound after surgery? My cat had a bilateral chain mastectomy 5 months ago after a cancer diagnosis. The surgery went well and at her 2 week suture removal appointment the surgeon said everything looked great. However, soon after she developed a rather large seroma in her abdominal area. I took her to my vet and she drained almost almost 100 cc of fluid and tested the fluid to confirm it was a seroma. As expected. the seroma was back by the next week and has been there ever since (going on 4 months), though this time it was rather firm. I was told that the seroma should eventually go away on it’s own. The seroma doesn’t really seem to bother her at all. I took her to my vet 2 days ago for an unrelated matter and she was concerned that it hadn’t changed at all. She drained the fluid again so she could feel the incision underneath. She was concerned that something could be causing irritation or something could have improperly healed (she said it felt odd when palpitating the stomach). She suggested that I make an appointment with the specialty surgeon.

I took her in for her appointment today and he suggested that we could do surgery to remove subcutaneous tissue and place a drain. I really do not want to do a drain and would like to avoid another surgery if at all possible given what she’s already been through!! (and I already paid for a $3000 surgery) He said we could do a limited ultrasound of the abdomen first to make sure the body wall was intact. I agreed to the ultrasound. He called with the results and said the body wall was intact and the fluid was clear but a could see a “repeatable foreign object” near the front of the seroma that could be causing irritation and fluid buildup. It seems to me that this foreign object has to be a direct result of the surgery (flipped staple, something left inside…)?? It’s outside of the body wall. I’m very frustrated. He stuck with his recommendation of a $1,500 exploratory surgery and the drain placement. However, he did say it’s not an emergency as she doesn’t seem in any distress and has been living with it for months.

Advice on how to proceed? What questions should I ask? Should the surgeon take responsibility for this?

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    It sounds like you have a firm understanding of everything that has been done. And a suspicion that is reasonable and understandable. With all of this I would inquire with the surgeon your concerns. If I were your surgeon I would offer to do it for free if indeed I was also concerned that I might be responsible for this. Your other option is to ask the surgeon for a referral from an unbiased unrelated surgeon who can give an honest assessment without bias or liability. Things happen. But ethical responsibility is paramount. You have options. Don’t be afraid to inquire, insist and exercise them. Please let me know what happens. I’m interested. Good luck.

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Amber | 6 years ago
I Am The Owner Of A 2 Year Old English Bulldog. Last Year His Urethra Prolapsed And …

I am the owner of a 2 year old English Bulldog. Last year his urethra prolapsed and he received a purse string suture and was neutered at the pet ER in Bel Air. The issue resolved itself and he had been doing well until this last week when the urethra prolapsed again. We took him through the Towson pet ER so he could see a surgical specialist. They evaluated him and suggested surgery. After surgery they sent him home to recover and stressed the importance of him staying calm. We stayed by his side, even staying home from work, to ensure that he didn’t do anything to distrupt the healing. We kept him in a play pen and carried him up and down the stairs to potty. Two days after the surgery (and lots of bloody laundry later) we noticed that he was extremely uncomfortable even while on the pain and sedative meds. We also noticed the protrusion of his urethra tissue. We took him back to the surgeon and they confirmed that the urethra has prolapsed and they have recommended that the surgery be performed for a second time (tomorrow). We have ruled out the obvious contributing factors that may cause pressure such as stones, uti, etc. Any thoughts for treatment options moving forward? Are we missing anything? I just want our little guy to start feeling well again! Thank you.

Amber

3 Responses

Comments

  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello.

    These are really frustrating cases. I’m so sorry about your experience and I empathize completely. I guess my first concern is that we don’t often know why this happens. My second concern is that you are going to repeat the same surgery and it should be assumed the failure has a pretty fair chance of happening again. My preference as the surgeon for cases like these (and they happen to all of us) is to both offer a redo (although I will admit I rarely charge or I charge a nominal redo fee) is to also offer a different surgeon to try over. My concern is that failing twice is an awful big expenditure and a tough explanation as to why I didn’t see that coming. My personal preference is to refer these difficult refractory cases to the vet teaching hospitals. They have faster easier and better access to more minds and more diverse experience. You just can’t get that at a private facility. I use UPenn or va tech vet schools. They are often cheaper and give a broader access to options and experience. I hope this helps. Please let me know what happens. I would love to hear a follow up and I would love to hear about your previous surgery and experience. Especially to add this to our storylines page. It is such a unique case. Very best of luck. Krista.

    1. Amber Post author

      Thank you so much for your reply and suggestions. We will move forward with the second attempt to repair the prolapse despite the low success rate and cost associated. If it is unsuccessful we will need to get another opinion. I hadn’t thought to consult with a vet school and I think that is great advice. I will certainly keep you posted along the way.

  2. Laura

    I want to second Dr. M’s recommendation of a vet school. UPenn is phenomenal – we drove up from Timonium. They couldn’t help my puppy but they literally threw everything they could at him to diagnose his issue, and it was more than the local vets could do.