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Location: UK
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 7
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Aftercare following splenectomy
On Monday night my little 9 year old jackapoo developed a really firm tummy and pain after eating her dinner. I was concerned about bloat so I took her to my vet out of hours and she had an x-ray showing that the stomach was full of food and wasn't digesting properly. She was given a couple of injections to get things moving and to relieve the pain and I was asked to bring her back in for further investigations the following day.
So the next day we returned and she had a further x-ray which showed that things still weren't looking good, so an investigatory operation was undertaken. It was found that she had a bleeding mass on her spleen, so her spleen was removed. Her liver looked good, as did all other organs, so I'm praying that this tumour wasn't anything nasty. It has been sent off for testing, so just waiting for results. I'm obviously hoping for the best but can't help but worry, she really is my world and I can't bear the thought of it being something serious. Not at this age.
We've had a couple of return visits to the nurse since then and three days later she's looking a fair bit perkier and her wound looks clean. She's on post-op wet food to aid digestion which I'm splitting 4 times across the day and I'm keeping a check on her gums to make sure that they're not too pale.
I am a bit concerned that now and again she will start shivering and her tail goes between her legs. Not sure if this is just the highly strung, intelligent terrier in her having a worry about something, a response to pain or both. She is on pain medication and I'm keeping her quiet on her bed unless she needs to go outside.
I'm just wondering if anyone else has gone through this and has any advice on how to keep her as comfortable as possible? Plus anything else I might need to look out for other than gums, toilet activity and wound checks? I have had the lowdown from the vet and have asked as many questions that I can think of, but it would help to hear from anyone who's been through something similar, if only just to feel a bit less alone and overwhelmed!