Post-op care. What do I need to know / do?

[PeriPathetic]

My lovely girl is being spayed in a couple of weeks. I'm really nervous!

I'm not in the UK and there is a bit of a language barrier. When I first spoke to the vet about it he said she wouldn't need a cone collar and would be wearing a "vest" to protect the stitches. He also said to bring her in at 9am and collect her at midday.

However, when the appointment was booked yesterday I was told I would "wait and then take her home at 9.30am"! Surely this isn't long enough for her to get the GA out of her system? Now I'm really worried about how to care for her at home, not to mention actually GETTING her home!

Googling hasn't helped my nerves and I will be on my own as DH & DD are going on holiday.

Assuming this is actually what happens, what can I expect from a post-operative dog? How do I best care for her and how long is she likely to be recovering? Any hints, tips and info would be most appreciated.

TIA

Thank you. Hope your pup continues her recovery!

I have no idea if it's keyhole; it's a very small surgery and communication is tricky. My dog will absolutely hate the cone, I was wondering if I should get one of those inflatable collars just in case?

What worries me is, from Googling, the immediate after effects of a GA sound pretty scary; vomiting, loss of bladder & bowel control. IMHO she should be under the vet's care for a couple ouf hours after the op - not at home.

I think I'll pay them another visit to put my mind at rest. Can't call them, the receptionist doesn't speak Englsh and just hangs up on me, gah!

Peri, I think this is an issue where you really, really need to either quickly improve your language skills, find an English speaking vet or get yourself a translator.

It's absolutely vital that you understand both the care being given to your dog, including the operation itself, plus all the pre-op stuff (like bloodwork for instance), as well as being able to discuss with the vet any issues that arise during the op, such as IV fluids, plus the vital question of post operative care, including drugs, feeding, wound care, signs of infection, issues to trigger a call to the vet etc. etc. Although spaying is a routine operation in the sense of it being done very frequently, it is still a major operation and I can't believe your vet is seriously suggesting you collect your dog half an hour after surgery. I would prepare a list of questions before the consultation covering all the important issues, including billing - you also want to make sure you understand what they've charged you for, especially if you have insurance.

Can you tell us what country you are in?

I would be very careful with not having cones/vests on, as a dog can do a lot of damage by licking, including removing stitches. In the worst case it can mean another operation to fix the damage.

Hello :) Thanks for your advice, sorry I didn't come back before now.

It's done and all's well. She went in today. The vet speaks a lot of English and so between our languages we understood each other very well. The confusion happened between the receptionist and DH... nuff said.

PeriDog went in at 9am. The half hour thing turned out to be the time I was to wait there with her while they sedated her. That was fun . Poor doggy!

I collected her at 1pm and she's wearing a rather funky dog version of the surgical gown. She's now VeriPatheticDog but very glad to be home. She insisted I spend the entire afternoon and evening on the couch cuddling her. It's been tough. She made sure I couldn't move by pinning me down with her paws.

The rather gorgeous vet phoned me this evening to see how she is doing (fine) and to give me his home phone number in case of any worries. And we go back tomorrow morning for a follow up.