I had two emergency C-Sections. One had massive blood in the uterus when they did the C-Section and the horn fell apart and bled all over. The Vet didn't know the cause but her x rays showed a false pregnancy. I imagine this was because of the amout of blood in the uterus. She was spayed, no choice and she did just fine without any complications.
The next had always free whelped and this litter was an accident, I was going to have her spayed. She free whelped two and the third was dead. I felt inside and the next pup was sidways with no way for me to move him with the pressure. We rushed her in and they did a c section and spayed her. She didn't need to be spayed but the Vet thought it was a good idea. She came home and did just fine.
I had another female that I took in to spay and she was at a different Vets that had the new lazer that is supposed to make them heal faster. She acted strange at home and finally lay down with me to sleep. When I woke up she was dead. It was heartbreaking.
I am like all of you, scared to death to hurt my babies and I don't know if it's good or not to spay. The first vet I went to has worked with my dogs for a long time and I have heard from the Vet Techs that she has never lost a female in a spay or whelp so our loss could have been from the other Vet or new procedure. We had an autopsy done but the attending Vet said her artery burst going to her heart from the blood gasses that hadn't dissipated. Two other Vets have said that it was impossible to have happened that way. The first Vet that did my two spays with good results has a dog on hand for blood transfusions. You should maybe check to see if they have that before you use a vet. Some seem to think ahead of the others.
the uterus is very vascular and large when a bitch is pregnant. about three months later the uterus is the size of your little finger. a bitch who has undergone a c-section is exhausted, has lost blood, has rapidly changing hormone levels that aren't the same as a nonpregnant bitch and was probably already anemic related to the pregnancy. three or four months later her body is in better condition to tolerate another surgery. she is no longer anemic. hormonally she is normal.
a c-section plus spay means the bitch spends longer under anesthesia at the time of the c-section. not good.
the doctor who does the c-section plus spay is also more stressed and tired by the time he/she gets to the spay suturing.
i just don't see anything to recommend c-section spay combination except that it is less expensive.
Thanks all. To those who have experienced the horrific losses that we all fear, I am truly sorry. I plan to sit down with my vet on Friday and discuss this further.
Jan
