# Neuter Concern



## owens_mom (Jan 9, 2009)

I just had my 7 month old catahoula bulldog neutered on Monday of this week, yesterday I noticed he had some sort of blood spot thing near the incision site.  I called the vet and took him in this morning, in the middle of all this I noticed his stitches had come out of the incision (awesome, I know) and now the incision is open. I get him to the vet and tell about the blood spot and then the stitches. The nurse addresses the stitches but not my big concern. I had read a lot about hematomas and other problems that can result from this type of thing. After getting the bill for $145 to staple the incision back together, I ask again about the blood spot. I am told that it doesn't really look like anything and that if it doesn't get better over the next couple of days to bring him back in. My problem with this is that I just paid $145 for this procedure to be done that should've probably been in the first place since stiches can obviously can come out too easily (impossible that dog got them out as he has been wearing the cone 24/7 since he was neutered) but WHATEVER. Anyone have any idea if this is serious? I think it is. 











EDIT:
So after to vet told us that the blood was no big deal, pretty much. We get owen back and bring him home, this is when I get to view the stitches that I paid $145 for. WTF. You've got to be kidding me..it looks like a 5 year old took and office stapler and did it.







I am sick to my stomach knowing what my dog had to go through and extremely upset that it isn't normal for a vet to charge to fix something like that after a procedure. I'm not even worried about the blood anymore because it seems to have subsided. But the procedure and incision itself, I had no idea what the expect but now looking at other dogs procedures I am extremely concerned. I am contacting Banfields corporate office ASAP, and changing vets for SURE. Thank you everyone for your input and information, I REALLY appreciate it!!!!!


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## baird (Jan 9, 2009)

A hematoma is not much to worry about its usually caused by a needle going in and out of a vien.... It does go away. It basically will cause a pocket of blood under the skin causing the skin to bubble. It will go down sometimes in very little time. It is possible that your dog is scratching on something causing the stitches to come out. It will heal. By the way I would go to a different Vet... He did quite the chop job on your dog.


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## myminpins (Dec 20, 2008)

Baird is correct. Also, they charged you AGAIN to fix his stitches?????

When I had my dogs neutered, they used glue, no stitches required, and you had a hard time finding the spot they did the incision. I do NOT like the look of that incision on your dog - that's WAY too big, IMHO, for a neuter incision. 

I can't believe they charged you to fix the stitches... grrrrr...

This is a set of photographs detailing a neutering procedure. It shows you what's done, how it's done, and how tiny and neat the incision is when it's finished, if you're interested. If you can't handle surgical pictures, PLEASE DO NOT OPEN THIS LINK!!!!!

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.dr-dan.com/images/scrub.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.dr-dan.com/newpage2.htm&usg=__8grZXJzfBp-_54ITcExZ6H9DhgI=&h=288&w=360&sz=17&hl=en&start=4&sig2=q1i8u9IB9L41pzF1MihwEQ&tbnid=uzfLSqQQ1BUBeM:&tbnh=97&tbnw=121&ei=QthnSZ6vOoiDtweln_GmBw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddog%2Bcastration%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG


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## GroovyGroomer777 (Aug 21, 2008)

I also think you should see a different vet.

145 to fix the stitches is outragous!


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## superdogzies (Jan 10, 2009)

Personally I would switch vets...it is stupid for you to have to pay that much. At our vet when my dog have surgery on his leg it was free to have stitches fixed and other things like that. As for the spot of blood, I really have no idea b/c when my dog got neutered it was fine. Sorry if I'm not much of a help.


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## Inga (Jun 16, 2007)

I agree with looking for a different vet. Post surgery care should be included in the cost. It is certainly not uncommon to have stitches on the outside but many vets will only use internal stitches and glue the outer skin so there are no external stitches.


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## owens_mom (Jan 9, 2009)

thank you SO much for that information, I really do appreciate it and I am taking care of business ASAP. I'm also never recommending anyone to go to Banfield pet hospital, this has been a nightmare.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Yeah, I've heard bad things about Banfield. I've never had a vet that would charge to re-do stitches if they got popped post-surgery. That should be included in the price. And, the other posters are right, that really is a hack job. You'd think Banfield (being so big) would be able to employ vets that keep up with the newest way of doing neuters. Ugh.

BTW, my vet doesn't use stitches for neuters at all. It's not like anything is going to fall out of the incision (unlike spays), and he says that open incisions have less chance of getting infected.. So I think the staples were totally unnecessary. Sad when the vet is just looking for money instead of looking out for you and your pet  .


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## Mdawn (Mar 3, 2007)

When Eddie was neutered, that isn't where his incision was...his was kind of on his lower belly. His incision didn't look anything like Owen's...poor puppy!


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

owens_mom said:


> thank you SO much for that information, I really do appreciate it and I am taking care of business ASAP. I'm also never recommending anyone to go to Banfield pet hospital, this has been a nightmare.


Then you probably got a kid straight out of vet collage. Banfield is HORRIBLE and is ALWAYS overpriced!


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## craven.44 (Sep 10, 2008)

I have heard awful things about Banfield, I would find a different vet. I work with a rescue group that adopts out their cats at PetSmart. Someone once adopted a kitten that my vet spayed. She was totally fine through surgery and had a normal physical exam. 2 weeks later, her adoptive family had her declawed at Banfield. She died under anesthesia. I know that sometimes things happen, but they told the owner that she had a heart problem and there was nothing they could have done differently to change the outcome. If that were true, why didn't she die during the spay? She was a healthy kitten. Anyway...

I am sorry you had such a bad experience, bruising like that is decently normal, and I actually prefer sutures to staples on dog neuters (gluing is my favorite, but it doesn't work all that well on big or very active dogs). Good luck in Owen's recovery and your search for a new vet.


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## vabird (Jun 5, 2007)

While I'm not a fan of Banfields, I think previous posts are wrong on a number of points. That incision size is not too big for the size of your dog. The incision has to be big enough for the testicle to fit through and that looks like an appropriate size for your dog. Glue isn't always appropriate. As someone already stated it can be a problem in a large and active dog and sometimes the incision does not come together well enough for glue to work. I would think that staples were used because he pulled the sutures the first time and they didn't want to take a chance the second.


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## kristan (Oct 10, 2008)

Sounds like it's time for a new vet! 

I've only had one experience with Banfield. It was an urgent type situation and my regular vet couldn't squeeze us in (well they could have but the receptionist was an idiot!). My pup had a large lump on her paw pad that was causing her to limp. The vet looked at it...pulled out the Merck Vet Manual couldn't find anything that looked like it and ask what I wanted to do! Um? HELLO? Isn't that what I'm paying you to decide!

Anywho...they shouldn't have charged you for putting the staples in...especially $145! I would probably call and complain and ask for a refund.


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## salask (Jul 31, 2007)

I had Bubba neutered at Bannfield back in 2000 and they did a really good job. However, i will NEVER go back due to other problems i had with them with my other pets. I honestly don't recall Bubba's incision looking anywhere close to Owen's but as they mentioned on previous posts, it can be the size of the dog. Good luck and definitely, don't go to Bannfield unless you have no other choice.


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