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I don't know if this is the right place for this, but I really need to let this out. I'm so angry and confused! I know this is a long post, so bear with me.
So, about a week ago I posted in this forum, asking for advice on a "seroma" which my baby girl Lucy had developed after her spay (1 1/2 weeks ago.) The lump in her incision happened quickly the very next day after her surgery, and the night before, she was really freaked out. I thought it might've been a reaction to the anasthesia, because she's never behaved anything like what I saw that night. Even though I made sure she only had pillows / bedding and food, water and litter box in her small recovery room, I was concerned for her thrashing around. I brought her in to have the vet look at the lump, and they said that some swelling is normal, and no, her insides weren't falling out (a refrain I had convinced myself of in the night as I waited for the vet to open.) They made me feel like I was overreacting, and everything would be fine.
But it wasn't. The lump kept getting bigger every day. We took her back a couple of days after that (after hearing other experiences with seromas, I wasn't convinced,) and the vet who I take my dog to was there. She seemed noticably concerned with the lump, and said no, this isn't normal. She palpated the area, and said it felt firm in one spot, so she wanted to do an x ray to determine if the sutures had broken, because she'd immediately need them repaired if that was the case.
She came back out after an agonizing 10 mins, and said that the sutures were fine, and that it was just a seroma - or fluid buildup in the "dead space" between the fatty tissue layer and the skin. She seemed certain that it was because Lucy was so freaked out and active the first night, and (although my research on the topic later indicated that it could also be the result of an inexperienced vet causing too much trauma to the surrounding tissue,) I had no way of knowing any differently. The vet that did the spay is brand new to this clinic, and seemed pretty inexperienced, but I figured any vet that was practicing shouldn't have trouble with such a basic procedure.
So, two more days go by, and I keep myself calm by checking the forums, and hearing other people's stories of spay complications like seromas or abcesses. I keep myself informed on what to look for in the area. Although everyone here was so supportive and helpful, I really started to feel like my case was diverging from the normal seroma presentation, since the lump kept getting progressively bigger, seemingly very suddenly at times, and it also didn't seem exactly painless. On Monday, I had my husband take her back in, where she saw New Vet (the one who did the spay,) again.
The vet noticed she was running a fever, and put her on antibiotics. She was concerned that the Onsior (the NSAID which my cat had been taking the whole time,) wasn't working on the swelling, and put a very tight pressure bandage around her midsection. Lucy was miserable in that thing. She couldn't (or maybe wouldn't) even use the bathroom with it on, so I took her back the next day to have it removed, (thinking it might have to go back on afterwards, and they'd have to do that.) New vet left the bandage off that night, since the lump had only gotten bigger overnight, and she'd set up some tests for the next day to find out if the liquid in the lump was sterile or infected. They had put this off earlier in her diagnosis to reduce the chance of introducing infection in the area, but it seemed like something needed to be done at this point.
The testing took all of that day. After testing and poking and prodding her, I finally got a call from the new vet saying she didn't get any liquid after trying to test in multiple spots. She is now thinking it's just inflamed tissue, and set up a $700 surgery for the next day with another vet from another clinic for tissue removal / debridement. At first, I protested the change in the guard, since it seemed like so much was getting lost in translation between her and my dog's vet, and I really didn't want to introduce someone else into the case this late into the game. But it turned out that this new surgeon had been the vet I brought Lucy to when I first found her under my house, abandoned, and because of the dire nature of the situation, I decided to go along with the surgery for that next day. Lucy came home in another bandage (which I just cut off,) and I cuddled her and cooed over her all night as we waited for the 7 am drop off.
Another all-day panic, as I didn't know what had happened or what was found until I went to pick her up at 5 pm after work. The surgical vet took me in the back room and explained that it wasn't a seroma, but adipose and fatty tissue that had broken through the inner suture line, and which were collecting against her skin. We were incredibly lucky because there were no organs or intestines which came through the break and herniated, since the fatty tissue was there blocking it. But if we hadn't done something, it would have killed her.
Here's the kicker: not only were my babies "insides falling out," as I THOUGHT THEY WERE FROM THE FIRST DAY, but the vet who did the final surgery felt that we shouldn't be charged for the repair. Why? Because the New Vet who did the spay to begin with used a continuous suture, which in her opinion shouldn't have ever been used, because of its fragility, especially in cats, and especially on the inner suture line.
So, to recap, not only was it NOT a seroma caused by my cat being overly active the first night, but it was something that could have killed her, which was likely the fault of the vet who spayed her, and which wasn't even caught by the vet who x rayed her. This last vet showed me pictures of the tissue and how it had fallen through and started healing around the broken suture line. She also showed me the single-stitch, diagonal sutures which are already healing a million times better so far (knock on wood.)
Has anyone else had their cat's spay surgery go wrong like this? Is it at all common with an experinced vet? The vets office is currently working on reviewing the suggestion of the last vet that they refund the cost of the last surgery, and I think they are going to do it, but I'm not 100% sure about that yet. I keep going back and forth about what I should do if they decide not to refund me. I'm angry, so I go through bouts of rage at the people who made my Lucy suffer for an entire week, and think that I shouldn't have had to pay for any of the antibiotics, or x ray, or surgery to fix their mistake. Then I try and be rational and compassionate, and understand that they weren't intentionally harming her, and were honestly pretty kind throughout the whole ordeal, (if not a little condescending.) I really can't afford to throw away that much money, but I also don't have the expertise to determine fault / causality with this case, since I'm not a vet. Did anyone else have a break in the inner sutures because of their cat's activity? Should I fight to get my money back (for either the last surgery, or for everything after the initial spay?) Should I make a formal complaint about the original vet? Can I even trust my dog's vet anymore either? I can't help but worry I might be overreacting, but it's been a really crazy week. Any advice, comments, or ideas are apprecaited! Thanks for listening!
TL;DR - My cat had an internal suture break after her spay, which left fatty tissue falling through the incision. It formed a scary lump which was misdiagnosed by two vets, over multiple visits, and continued to get worse over the week. The tissue needed immediate removal, and after the surgery to do so, she's finally doing better. According to the last surgical vet, the sutures broke because of the type of stitching used. The other vet seems to still think its because of my cat's activity level. The vet's office is figuring out what happened. Has anyone else had this happen due to either cause?
So, about a week ago I posted in this forum, asking for advice on a "seroma" which my baby girl Lucy had developed after her spay (1 1/2 weeks ago.) The lump in her incision happened quickly the very next day after her surgery, and the night before, she was really freaked out. I thought it might've been a reaction to the anasthesia, because she's never behaved anything like what I saw that night. Even though I made sure she only had pillows / bedding and food, water and litter box in her small recovery room, I was concerned for her thrashing around. I brought her in to have the vet look at the lump, and they said that some swelling is normal, and no, her insides weren't falling out (a refrain I had convinced myself of in the night as I waited for the vet to open.) They made me feel like I was overreacting, and everything would be fine.
But it wasn't. The lump kept getting bigger every day. We took her back a couple of days after that (after hearing other experiences with seromas, I wasn't convinced,) and the vet who I take my dog to was there. She seemed noticably concerned with the lump, and said no, this isn't normal. She palpated the area, and said it felt firm in one spot, so she wanted to do an x ray to determine if the sutures had broken, because she'd immediately need them repaired if that was the case.
She came back out after an agonizing 10 mins, and said that the sutures were fine, and that it was just a seroma - or fluid buildup in the "dead space" between the fatty tissue layer and the skin. She seemed certain that it was because Lucy was so freaked out and active the first night, and (although my research on the topic later indicated that it could also be the result of an inexperienced vet causing too much trauma to the surrounding tissue,) I had no way of knowing any differently. The vet that did the spay is brand new to this clinic, and seemed pretty inexperienced, but I figured any vet that was practicing shouldn't have trouble with such a basic procedure.
So, two more days go by, and I keep myself calm by checking the forums, and hearing other people's stories of spay complications like seromas or abcesses. I keep myself informed on what to look for in the area. Although everyone here was so supportive and helpful, I really started to feel like my case was diverging from the normal seroma presentation, since the lump kept getting progressively bigger, seemingly very suddenly at times, and it also didn't seem exactly painless. On Monday, I had my husband take her back in, where she saw New Vet (the one who did the spay,) again.
The vet noticed she was running a fever, and put her on antibiotics. She was concerned that the Onsior (the NSAID which my cat had been taking the whole time,) wasn't working on the swelling, and put a very tight pressure bandage around her midsection. Lucy was miserable in that thing. She couldn't (or maybe wouldn't) even use the bathroom with it on, so I took her back the next day to have it removed, (thinking it might have to go back on afterwards, and they'd have to do that.) New vet left the bandage off that night, since the lump had only gotten bigger overnight, and she'd set up some tests for the next day to find out if the liquid in the lump was sterile or infected. They had put this off earlier in her diagnosis to reduce the chance of introducing infection in the area, but it seemed like something needed to be done at this point.
The testing took all of that day. After testing and poking and prodding her, I finally got a call from the new vet saying she didn't get any liquid after trying to test in multiple spots. She is now thinking it's just inflamed tissue, and set up a $700 surgery for the next day with another vet from another clinic for tissue removal / debridement. At first, I protested the change in the guard, since it seemed like so much was getting lost in translation between her and my dog's vet, and I really didn't want to introduce someone else into the case this late into the game. But it turned out that this new surgeon had been the vet I brought Lucy to when I first found her under my house, abandoned, and because of the dire nature of the situation, I decided to go along with the surgery for that next day. Lucy came home in another bandage (which I just cut off,) and I cuddled her and cooed over her all night as we waited for the 7 am drop off.
Another all-day panic, as I didn't know what had happened or what was found until I went to pick her up at 5 pm after work. The surgical vet took me in the back room and explained that it wasn't a seroma, but adipose and fatty tissue that had broken through the inner suture line, and which were collecting against her skin. We were incredibly lucky because there were no organs or intestines which came through the break and herniated, since the fatty tissue was there blocking it. But if we hadn't done something, it would have killed her.
Here's the kicker: not only were my babies "insides falling out," as I THOUGHT THEY WERE FROM THE FIRST DAY, but the vet who did the final surgery felt that we shouldn't be charged for the repair. Why? Because the New Vet who did the spay to begin with used a continuous suture, which in her opinion shouldn't have ever been used, because of its fragility, especially in cats, and especially on the inner suture line.
So, to recap, not only was it NOT a seroma caused by my cat being overly active the first night, but it was something that could have killed her, which was likely the fault of the vet who spayed her, and which wasn't even caught by the vet who x rayed her. This last vet showed me pictures of the tissue and how it had fallen through and started healing around the broken suture line. She also showed me the single-stitch, diagonal sutures which are already healing a million times better so far (knock on wood.)
Has anyone else had their cat's spay surgery go wrong like this? Is it at all common with an experinced vet? The vets office is currently working on reviewing the suggestion of the last vet that they refund the cost of the last surgery, and I think they are going to do it, but I'm not 100% sure about that yet. I keep going back and forth about what I should do if they decide not to refund me. I'm angry, so I go through bouts of rage at the people who made my Lucy suffer for an entire week, and think that I shouldn't have had to pay for any of the antibiotics, or x ray, or surgery to fix their mistake. Then I try and be rational and compassionate, and understand that they weren't intentionally harming her, and were honestly pretty kind throughout the whole ordeal, (if not a little condescending.) I really can't afford to throw away that much money, but I also don't have the expertise to determine fault / causality with this case, since I'm not a vet. Did anyone else have a break in the inner sutures because of their cat's activity? Should I fight to get my money back (for either the last surgery, or for everything after the initial spay?) Should I make a formal complaint about the original vet? Can I even trust my dog's vet anymore either? I can't help but worry I might be overreacting, but it's been a really crazy week. Any advice, comments, or ideas are apprecaited! Thanks for listening!
TL;DR - My cat had an internal suture break after her spay, which left fatty tissue falling through the incision. It formed a scary lump which was misdiagnosed by two vets, over multiple visits, and continued to get worse over the week. The tissue needed immediate removal, and after the surgery to do so, she's finally doing better. According to the last surgical vet, the sutures broke because of the type of stitching used. The other vet seems to still think its because of my cat's activity level. The vet's office is figuring out what happened. Has anyone else had this happen due to either cause?
. What an ordeal! I DO think the initial Vet should pay for the 2nd surgery, and if they don't, perhaps the 2nd Vet will help you with that. 
Thanks for the advice and the support. 
