# Open incision and infection after neutering, HELP!



## Tucker'sMommy (Sep 10, 2012)

I had my 20 month old english mastiff neutered last Tuesday at the Humane Society's S.N.I.P. clinic and picked him up the following morning. He was of course a little groggy and gassy :redface: but his appetite slowly came back and he was the same dog by post-op day 3. He had a small incision that had internal sutures and was glued shut on the outside. On day 4, the incision looked like it may be coming open a little and his scrotum was pretty swollen, but I opted to keep an eye on it. I came home from work on day 5 (yesterday) and it appeared that the incision was more open with signs of infection (redness, slight drainage). I decided to take him to the emergency vet, since it was Sunday and our office was closed. The vet confirmed that it was infected and wanted to put him back under anesthesia, to clean it and re-suture it, give him pain meds and antibiotics, and send him home with oral pain meds and antibiotics. I was a little nervous about putting him back to sleep, but was in agreement until I saw what the bill would be - $871! I could hardly believe it. After much thought and consideration, I decided to hold off and see my vet the following day. Tucker has actually been acting like he feels completely fine, is eating, drinking, peeing, and pooping without any problems. I am planning on taking him to his normal vet when they open later today, but was just looking for some advice from anyone who may have had a similar experience. We love our vet and will likely go with his recommendation, but I'm not convinced at this point that he needs a second surgery right away to correct this. I am also, of course, concerned with what the costs may be, even at my regular vet. What do you think? Have I done the right thing so far? Would you have paid the nearly $900 to have this corrected? I am seriously regretting having him neutered at all at this point. Any advice or insight is much appreciated!


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

To be honest, I likely would have been at my regular vet at the first sign of potential infection. Even if it may not have needed a second surgery early on, he might very well *now*. He may have an abscess, or be developing one, in which case there isn't much for it but TO pay. Regular vet is always going to be cheaper than the e-vet.


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## Tucker'sMommy (Sep 10, 2012)

I completely agree, but the first sign of infection was Saturday evening when the vet was closed and they are closed all day Sunday, as well. We have an appointment for 9:30 this morning, I'll let you guys know what we find out. Thanks! I was just floored that it could possibly cost almost $900 for a second "simple" procedure when I was able to have him neutered for $50. Seems like robbery...


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Tucker'sMommy said:


> I completely agree, but the first sign of infection was Saturday evening when the vet was closed and they are closed all day Sunday, as well. We have an appointment for 9:30 this morning, I'll let you guys know what we find out. Thanks! I was just floored that it could possibly cost almost $900 for a second "simple" procedure when I was able to have him neutered for $50. Seems like robbery...


I would be pretty floored as well, to be honest. When my cat chewed her spay incision open I think it cost 100.00 to have her cleaned up and sewed back up again. Which was more than her spay and WASN"T at an e-vet (regular vet was still open), but still. That is a TON of money (and would pay for hip replacement surgery, here.)


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

I suspect a significant part of the cost is because it was an "emergency." We took our dog to the e-vet on a Friday night when her face swelled up; the vet gave her two injections (an antihistamine and a steroid) and Rx for benadryl. The cost of the visit and injections wasn't bad, but there was a separate fee for emergency services or something similar. The emergency fee pays for anytime access to a doctor and fully equipped hospital.

The neuter fee seems _very_ low to me. I know we paid more than usual for our dog's spay and gastropexy, but a simple, traditional spay would have been at least $500.

Hope Tucker is feeling better very soon. Let us know what happens with your vet.


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

our girl had an infected belly too...we had to get it cleaned out and stitched back together. it was about 160 dollars. they did not put her back asleep. they only nummed her belly and made her a little "sleepy"


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## Tucker'sMommy (Sep 10, 2012)

Good news! My vet said that I absolutely did the right thing by not paying to have him put back under and worked on. He said that it was probably overkill and that there was a good chance of it opening back up anyway. Although the wound is infected, the opening is very small and there is puckering around the edges which suggests it's trying to close and heal on it's own. We opted for a week's worth of oral antibiotics and pain pills and the vet said that he thought it would do just fine as long as Tucker isn't trying to lick it like crazy. We made it out of there with a grand total of $30! I am so relieved! Thanks a lot for all your input and hopefully this information will help someone else out in the future.


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

Glad to read the good news!


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

And this is why sometimes what looks like the cheapest option really isn't. I'd be embarrassed to take my dog to my vet to "clean up" the mess left by a production line spay neuter clinic because I wanted to save a few bucks. I always took my dogs (including rescues) to my regular vet - and if there was a problem (rare) they fixed it at no extra charge. Good luck with your boy though.


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## Tucker'sMommy (Sep 10, 2012)

I felt completely comfortable taking him to the Humane Society, knowing that those vets do these surgeries all day everyday and there were actually a lot of people there that had been referred by their own vet. The complications actually had nothing to do with how the surgery was done, it's just something that happens from time to time.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Tucker'sMommy said:


> I felt completely comfortable taking him to the Humane Society, knowing that those vets do these surgeries all day everyday and there were actually a lot of people there that had been referred by their own vet. The complications actually had nothing to do with how the surgery was done, it's just something that happens from time to time.


Yep. Heck, my vet refers his clients to those clinics for s/n. Because they DO do them all the time, it IS routine, the scheduling is more convenient (he only does s/n once a week, as opposed to every day, and his drop off hours are more limited) and, frankly, because he doesn't love doing them. No harm, no foul, and a s/n clinic is not somehow having surgeries performed by people who aren't vets, or on the kitchen table.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Yeah, the low-cost spay/neuter clinic I went to did a WAY better job than any regular vet I've ever been to. I wish I could use them all the time (I'd donate full price, of course ). And it seems like the more expensive the vet is, the worse they do! 

When my boys were neutered, their incisions were open by the time I got home (both times were when I was on vacation and boarded them at the vet for 4 days), and my vet never said a word. I didn't know males were commonly stitched until I came here . I don't know if he stitched them and they pulled the stitches, or if he leaves them open to begin with. At any rate, the stitching isn't crucial, and as long as the infection is taken care of, he should be fine.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

Tucker'sMommy said:


> I completely agree, but the first sign of infection was Saturday evening when the vet was closed and they are closed all day Sunday, as well. We have an appointment for 9:30 this morning, I'll let you guys know what we find out. Thanks! I was just floored that it could possibly cost almost $900 for a second "simple" procedure when I was able to have him neutered for $50. Seems like robbery...


In my area it costs $78 just to walk in the door of the ER Hospital. Then you have to sign papers before each and every procedure ... separately ... and give them an allowance of $$$ they can spend. It cost me 4 grand for 6 days in the ER Hospital with Leeo ....... But then again it cost me 1 grand at the regular vets ... and they didn't know what was wrong with him.


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## Rescued (Jan 8, 2012)

Tucker'sMommy said:


> I felt completely comfortable taking him to the Humane Society, knowing that those vets do these surgeries all day everyday and there were actually a lot of people there that had been referred by their own vet. The complications actually had nothing to do with how the surgery was done, it's just something that happens from time to time.


Dont feel bad at all, our spay/ neuter clinic is volunteer run by a local vet that also has her own practice and they do an excellent job. Toby was done at our regular vet and Hattie at the clinic and I was MUCH happier with Hattie's inscision and healing. Clinics often do a great job since they see all kinds of S/N under different conditions!


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