The vets keep charging me

[ledla]

My 9 year old German shepherd had a large lump removed on the front of her chest a month ago. She had surgery, was stitched up and given antibiotics. She was wearing a head cone so couldn’t touch the wound, and also wasn’t allowed in the garden. A few days later the stitches burst open, so back to the vets we went. £200 later she’s stitched back up and given more antibiotics. A week later the same thing happened. Another £200. Two weeks later and the stitches have burst back open again to expose the nasty wound. I spoke to the vets and they have said she needs to come back in for the same thing again (another £200).

AIBU to think they need to find another solution? Am I in any position to complain? I don’t know where to go from here. She’s had a head cone on for a month, and only been out in the garden on a lead, so hasn’t caused the stitches to pop open. She’s obviously in pain, the stitches aren’t working and I don’t have any unlimited amount of money 🙁

That doesn't mean it's her fault, though. You can do everything right in terms of aftercare and still end up with complications. Animals aren't robots - they move, lick, stretch, itch themselves - you can't always prevent them from irritating their wounds or rupturing their stitches.

Staples, and ask them to look at why it keeps bursting open, as the wound should be knitting together after just a few days so bursting open two weeks after stitching suggests the wound is not healing as expected - why?

I would also get a body suit, so that the area with the stitches has some supportive pressure - it may be that gravity is causing fluid to build up, and it's this that is stopping the healing/bursting stitches.

I don't think you're being fair here.

The vets are the professionals - it's on them to recognise when a solution isn't working and to offer alternatives - it shouldn't be the OP who has to come to them with a different "fix" for whatever is happening.

When you have a professional with 7 years of training telling you that your dog needs stitches, it's not exactly easy to say "well actually, Google says this and you're wrong".

Breach of contract? I don’t recall ever signing contracts with vets. Consent forms that I accept the treatment may not be successful perhaps. You do realise you need money to sue and usually lots of it? Yes the vet needs to put this right but let’s not make out it’s so easy to sue left right and centre because it’s not. If you aren’t happy with the vet in general then yes, you do go to another one.

A contract is implicit when a service is carried out. The provider owes the client a duty of care.

You don't need to sign a contract for one to exist.

But how can a person with no veterinary knowledge advocate for their pet. Surely the very act of them repeatedly taking their pet to the vet is them ‘advocating’ for it. Also, it would never strike me to ask the vet ‘could you try something different?’ as if vet said like what? I wouldn’t have a clue?!

It’s a v odd comment for you to make. The OP ‘advocated’ already for her pet by presenting him and speaking up about the issue. Thereafter it’s all on the paid expert veterinarian to offer up appropriate/different solutions based on their several years of specialist academic training 🤦🏻‍♀️

Exactly.

The vet is the expert here - the one who is being paid to provide appropriate care to OP's animal. It's not on her to do the research, figure out what the solution is and present that to the vet

The vet should have looked over the notes, realised her dog has had multiple issues with sutures rupturing, figured out some alternatives and given them to the OP as different options - that's quite literally their job.

If a vet told me my dog needed X, I wouldn't think to question it, I would just assume they knew what they were doing.

I remember one dog I put on the lead even in the house. He would have jumped up otherwise. Cones only stop licking