Archive for the tag 'anesthesia'

Ask the French Bulldog Vet - Spaying Gone Tragically Wrong

lorihuntdvm August 14th, 2008

I have just spent one of the worst weekends of my life.  On Friday morning I took my apparently energetic and healthy little 4.5 month old girl to be spayed.  About an hour after I dropped her off I received the call that she was dead.  What I was told is that they didn’t even get her under - that the pre-anethesia medication was all that she had been given.  The pre-anethesia included morphine.  I was told that when they came to get her she was blue.

My questions:
1.  Do most vets monitor small dogs after they have been given meds like morphine to make sure that there is no adverse reaction?

2.  If so - could anything have been done?
3.  Is giving morphine as a pre-anethesia a common practice when spaying?

I dropped off what seemed to be a perfectly healthy little dog for what I understand to be a very routine surgery.  I had planned to pamper her this weekend after the spaying - cleared all activities.  Instead I ended up mourning her death.

When I first found this vet I had talked to three others and discussed their familiarity with the breed.  I went with him because I was assured that he had 4-5 current frenchies and that he was very familiar with the breed.  I live in the Phoenix area and will be getting another frenchie - I really fell in love with the breed.

I didn’t see any recommended vets listed for out here - how do I make sure I am getting quality care for my beautiful little pups?

Dr. Lori writes –

What an absolutely awful thing to have happen.  I am so sorry for you and your little girl and I can only imagine how heart broken you must be.

You mention morphine, but were there other drugs in the pre-anesthetic cocktail?  I do believe if pre-medications are to be used, the dog should be monitored.  We have our surgery recovery area right in the midst of our main room, so the pets are always in our sight.  It is possible if they saw her fading they could have intubated and given her meds to turn her around, but that is hard to say for sure, without knowing exactly what happened.

Many veterinarians do use pre-meds.  I choose not to use them on frenchies since anesthesia can be so hard on them anyway, that I believe the less drugs in their system, the better and easier recovery.  I have an anesthetic protocol on the frenchbulldogZ site, http://www.frenchbulldogz.org/learn/anesthesia.html.

While it isn’t perfect or all inclusive, it is certainly a good start. Please do let me know if you find out any other drugs were used.

I am so very sorry

Editor’s Note: I’m so sorry for the tragic loss of your little girl. You’ve gone through every Frenchie owner’s worst nightmare. You mention that there aren’t any Frenchie vets ‘where you are’ — if you email me and tell me where that is, I’ll be happy to try to find you a good reference in your area. Again, my deepest condolences on your loss.

Tags: , , , , ,

Ask the Veterinarian - Advantages to Neutering?

lorihuntdvm May 29th, 2008

can you please let me know the importance in neutering.We have a11 month old
male Frenchie and are concerned about the anestesia.

 

Thanks for any info

 

Dr. Lori Writes -

Neutering your frenchie will keep him from developing unwanted behaviors resulting from testosterone.  These include territorial marking, dog aggression, and intensity in play, etc.  It will also prevent your boy from testicular cancers and many prostatic diseases.  If he is not intended for show or breeding, it will make him a better pet for your family.

While anesthesia is a concern with this breed, if you find a knowledgeable Frenchie vet, use good anesthesia, and run preoperative testing, all should go without a hitch.  Here is a link to an anesthesia protocol I put together for rescue sometime ago… it is meant as a guideline for you and your vet and to get the conversation about anesthesia started…

There are several acceptable anesthesias for frenchies, so this list is not meant to be gospel.

Lori Hunt, DVM

Related Post
Related Post

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ask the Veterinarian - Concerned About Spay/Neutering & Anesthesia

lorihuntdvm May 19th, 2008

my frenchie is 4 months, the vet wants to neuter him but im very scared about the anesthesia, i saw your protocol but is there any thing else i should ask the vet before i even consider this.

One more thing ,will neutering him really protect him against cancer or not. I dont want to put him at risk.

please tell me what to do.?

Dr. Lori writes -
The protocol is a good guideline for frenchie anesthesia.  I think you should discuss it with your vet before surgery and decide on an option with which you are both comfortable. I would also recommend pre-anesthetic bloodwork and a clotting time.

As for neutering, I believe I would wait until he was 6-8 months to allow him some more growth… Neutering him will prevent unwanted pregnancies, prostate issues, testicular cancer and behavioral problems associated with testosterone.

Good Luck to you and your boy!

Tags: , , , , , , ,