Rhody Surgery Update
It has been a week and a day since Rhody had surgery to remove a mass from high up on his hind leg to remove a mass.
It has not been an easy recovery. We knew it might be tough because even when he had him neutered a year ago last summer, he had a few setbacks.
Saturday went better than Friday. And Sunday we really though he had turned a corner as he seemed so much more like himself. But after taking him outside after his dinner, we noticed some redness on his wound and with a closer look we found him to have a slow bleed.
Earlier that morning we had counted his staples just to keep track and be mindful of how many he started with. He had NINETEEN. We were surprised at how many staples, but he is a big dog at 93.5 pounds. We did a quick count of the staples when we noticed the bleed and only counted 18. One had slipped out somewhere at some point. We looked around the house. Nothing. Must have happened outside.
A quick call to the vet and they recommended we monitor it overnight. After an hour we checked and there was more bleeding then we felt comfortable with and decided to take him in to have a check. So, at nearly 8:30 at night T.J. was getting himself ready to drive Rhody to an after hours vet visit. The kids were panicked and so was I. And it was -20 degrees just three days after a blizzard leaving us with a foot of snow.
I felt so bad for Rhody! T.J. started messaging me once he arrived to the vet because I wanted to know what was going on so I could settle the kids down for bed. They had a lot of questions and were worried again that Rhody was leaving and going to the doctor. Would he be back? Is he going to get hurt by the vet? Why is his boo boo bleeding? And on and on. T.J. and I were panicked enough and trying to calm them down when I was also worried was hard.
T.J. brought Rhody back around 10pm. He told me what we had to do to take care of his wound. He also had a prescription for amoxicillin that he would have to start in case of infection. The vet did not want to re-staple the wound because she guessed an abscess had formed under the wound and needed to drain. We had to apply a warm compress three times a day to help this drain! He was almost out of his pain meds as they were for FIVE days.
Monday morning came and we called the surgeon who operated to see if we could bring him in for an evaluation. We wanted to make sure she had the same recommendation as the vet who worked overnight. We brought him in again Monday afternoon and she had the same advice.
On Friday we took him in again to the vet for another look at the wound and how it was healing with the abscess. She saw that there was still some swelling and recommended we put him on Prednisolone twice a day low dose. I’m not really happy about adding a steroid to his meds especially this one. The side affects are thirst, and lots of potty breaks. Plus, he is feeling really active which is not helpful for rest and recovery. This dog needs LOTS of exercise and is use to being out in the yard for long stretches of play and sniffing.
She also advised that we push back his staple removal from Monday to Wednesday. So, he has had a bit of a setback, but I’m glad we are playing it safe.
We continue to take him out on a short leash. He is still wearing a cone 24/7 except for meals and when we take him outside.
Want to hear the GOOD NEWS??? Mass that was sent out for testing is BENIGN! They called us Wednesday and told us the amazing news. I was holding my breath since the surgery worried we would have another golden retriever that might not survive the 5 year mark. Relief doesn’t even describe how I feel. So, even though we’ve had these minor setbacks it is so worth it knowing Rhody will live a happy healthy life going forward!
