"Very rare" subcutaneous infection following spay.
Hi everyone, this little gremlin is Pyewacket. She and her sister are five months old and both went in for a spay operation last Wednesday (5 days ago).
Her sister is totally fine, healing great. Pye started off fine on healing days 1 and 2 but slowly started getting more and more lethargic. She stopped jumping on to the sofa and started walking very slowly with her back half held high in the air. She would cry when we tried to lift her onto the sofa to get into her favourite nap spot.
On Sunday morning, when she didn't come to greet me when I woke up I knew something was seriously wrong and rushed her to the emergency out of hours vet. They did a scan and ruled out a hernia (phew) but found a pocket of fluid near her stomach. The vet said the fluid is between her skin and muscle layer, but that the wound it's self is healing very well, no signs of external infection. She has been wearing a soft cone and has not licked the incision site.
The fluid is very likely pus and the area is hot to the touch. The vet said this infection is what has been causing her pain. I asked how an internal infection can happen when the wound is totally fine, and she said it could have been that bacteria was introduced to that layer (they have to cut and stitch three layers apparently) during surgery before it was sewn up, trapping the bacteria inside.
The vet has asked to see her daily for the next four days and had prescribed Arthrocam, Gabapentin and Cladaxxa antibiotics.
She said that this kind of infection is incredibly rare and she has never seen anything like it before. I'm part of the pet health club but they only cover regular consultation fees, not out of hours, so that was £300 just to walk theough the door, plus the costs for the scan and medication with the out of hours premium added to everything.
She is insured with Adm*ral but they will not cover any complications from "elective surgery" so I think I'm out of luck there.
The reason I'm making this post is I was wondering if anyone out there has ever dealt with this kind of infection before? I am so worried I'm not sleeping and would love to hear about those who's pets have pulled through this?
I love her so much, and the thought of her being in so much pain is really heartbreaking. Any advice much appreciated.
Edit to add location and age: I am 33 and in the UK.