Question:
I have a nine year old pitbull with an infected uterus. She's gone through one full round of antibiotics (zenequin) to knock the infection out enough for surgery and she's on a second course right now while my husband and I decide what we are going to do. My dog has cystitis/mastitis and arthritis on top of her infection and we're afraid that the surgery is not going to do much to prolong and/or restore much of her life and lifestyle. My vet has recommended that we get her spayed, but as I read up on the procedure on the internet, I found that there were a lot of nasty side effects and secondary infections that occurred due to the surgery. My question is this: is this surgery worth having done or should I just let my dog go with some dignity?

Answer:
Well, look at it this way, if you would have had her spayed already she most likely wouldn't have cystitis/mastitis or an infected uterus.... almost everyone here has their pets altered with very minimal side effects. And they don't have the problems you mentioned either.

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Dogs that are spayed have a much lower incidence of uterus cancer and infections...there are NO nasty side effects, to the dog getting spayed...the nasty side effects of her NOT getting spayed..is what you are experiencing now...

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With spaying with an infected uterus, there are risks of the infection not being completely taken out, the 'discharge' (we'll call it) can infect the other organs and cause renal/kidney failure, not to mention it's a longer procedure and the older the dog, the worse they take the anesthesia. Believe me, I want to get this done, I want to make her better and help her live, but I dont want other infections or the pain of her other ailments to outweigh the benefits that the surgery has.

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And PS Sneaky... it was not my choice that my dog wasnt spayed so please no chastizing. I am not an irresponsible pet owner, it just was not my decision. I would have done it a long time ago if it had been. I am just trying to make now as good as it can be for her, and I honestly dont know if it will help her in the long run as much as I would love for it to magically cure her. Many many tears have been shed these past 2 weeks about this and I dont need someone telling me what I should have done prior to this, I am asking advice about what I should do now.

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What you can do is ask the vet to put her on antibotics during and after the procedure(spaying) so that she has a good chance of fighting the infection off.

I honestly believe that if having her spayed now would help her in the long term...it can prevent future infections and problems..but the decision is yours and it isnt an easy one to make

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I agree mysts. I think if your vet gives her anitbiotics before and during and after she will be able to fight the infection. I hope everything goes well and I think that you should spay or you can consult another vet for a second opinion.

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What has your vet said about secondary infections? Has your vet ever performed a spay on an infected dog?

I could be wrong, but it is my understanding that a spay is the best way to treat an infection of this type and prevent it from happening again. It seems that I have heard that once this happens the first time, the chances of it happening again increases dramitically.

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She's been on Zenequin for almost 2 weeks. And yes, the vet told me that if I decided not to spay then she would have to remain on antibiotics for the rest of her life... which wont be all that long if she doesnt have the surgery since the antibiotic hasnt actually stopped the bleeding this second round, just kind of kept it at bay. I dont know if my vet has performed the surgery before or not, although she sounded like she did. I have a call into the vet's office right now to talk to one of them to see what needs to be done. I really want her have this, it's not the expense or anything (that's definitely not the issue) and I know that this and the mastitis should clear up, but I dont know if her body will take the surgery and the possible secondary infections, although up until now she's been a very hearty dog, beaten parvo as a puppy and for the most part had very little problem healthwise.

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The vet didnt told me that she didnt know the extent of the infection until she goes in and looks. I know that if the discharge leaks into the abdomen, she can get peritonitis and there have been instances of kidney failure and lesions on other organs from the infectious discharge and in older dogs sometimes it is fatal.

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Hi Beth. It would be nice if one of the vets would see your question and post their advice too. They don't actually visit this forum every day. I'm sorry to hear about your dog, and hope you do decide to do the surgery and it is successful.

Just curious, why were you unable to have her spayed before now? You obviously love your dog and want the best for her, and you seem educated and intelligent. Before she got sick were you planning on breeding her?

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I wasn't giving advice as to what you should've done, I was simply saying that if it was done you wouldn't have these problems now, meaning yes I think you should have her spayed. (now)
If you would've said you got this dog a day ago (I don't know how long ago) My answer would've been the same.

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Make sure it isn't the first time your vet's done this kind of surgery. Now is not the time for inexperience, particularly if your dog is fragile. Good Luck!

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You need to get your dog spayed NOW. If full blown pyometra developes, your dog will die without a spay.

This is why I'm always harping on spaying.

Before she got sick were you planning on breeding her?
I surely hope no one is planning to breed a 9 yr old dog.

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No I had no plans to breed her... and like I said before... it was NOT my choice that she wasnt spayed. I hate to be vague, but I really do not want to go into it except that she's now all mine and I dont share her with anyone anymore, and up until recently the choice just wasnt mine. I had every intention of getting her spayed but she couldnt on her heat anyway and was planning on going in with her after that, and then this happened. I dont know if this is my vet's first surgery or not, in fact my vet's not even in the office this week, she's on vacation and I havent seen this vet before.

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Where are you located in case you need vet referals I am sure anyone of us could help you out. I agree this is not a straight spay and I would want an experienced vet operating on my baby.

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I live in Central Illinois. I really like my vet and she has referred me before for things that she's unsure of, like when they checked the cysts that are on my dog's body for cancer... she couldnt tell for sure what kind they were since they were masses that actually had different kind of cysts in it, so she sent the samples to a vet at a university for him to take a second look at it. Both said they were benign thank goodness but she knew enough of herself to get a second opinion. As far as surgery, she has removed masses from the dog before but I will definitely make sure that she knows what she's doing and if she's not confident, who she would recommend.

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