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Bleeding at incision site 3 weeks after surgery
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Member Since:
27 September 2019
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24 October 2019 - 5:38 pm
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Does anyone have any experience with this? Everything I can find here and online are dealing with complications within the first week of surgery. Ziggy has done well and his incision was looking great. I woke up this morning to find a trail of droplets of blood. Tried cold compresses like I had done on some small drips just after surgery, which had worked before, but not this time. A steady 5-6 droplets come every minute without hesitation. 

Got him to the vet and they were very surprised too due to the time since surgery, which was on 10/1/19. They did a platelet count and it came back normal. Cleaned him up, compress bandages and ace wrap. They said if he bled through it at any time during the weekend we may have a bigger problem. Well, he bled through it in about 3 hours.

He seems like he is fine, no change in energy, appetite, bowels, etc. Put a shirt over all the bandages and he has bled through that too. 

Dobermans are prone to Von Willebrand's disease, but I find it doubtful that we would just find this out now after multiple procedures. Hesitant to have a $400 dna test done if he has never had symptoms of this before.

Anyone out there have a similar experience like this?

Thanks in advance,

Scott

Michigan
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2 April 2013
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24 October 2019 - 7:26 pm
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Hmm...ok, well, what about a PT/PTT in his blood work?  That's his clotting factors and clotting time (how long it takes the blood to clot).

It is odd, this far out from surgery.  But I wonder if maybe a suture that was on an artery dissolved?  (just throwing that out there - no idea if that's possible or not)  Sutures all dissolve at different rates, and usually they dissolve in a couple of weeks.  

Is it blood, blood? or more like fluidish blood?  I wonder if maybe there was a hematoma or a seroma and maybe that's just seeping out through the incision now?

I wonder if they will need to go back inside and check?  Even if it's healing, they might need to get inside the incision again to explore what it is that is bleeding so much. 

donna

Donna, Glenn & Murphy 

Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17  
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs

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Member Since:
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25 October 2019 - 7:16 am
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Yeah they checked his clotting factors and it was all normal. The suture on the artery is an interesting take, he does have dissolvable sutures and it is right at the time they would be dissolving. He is headed back to the vet now and reaching out to the surgical group that did his surgery as well. He definitely cannot keep losing blood at this rate.

Green Bay, WI


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25 October 2019 - 11:01 am
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Have to say, my first thought on reading this was Von Willebrand's too. But it does seem odd that it wouldn't have manifested before this. I wouldn't be surprised if they had to take him back into surgery to see what is going on (seems drastic, but I think that's what I would want to get to the bottom of it quickly.) What is his platelet count?

paula and warrior angel nitro

Nitro 11 1/2  yr old Doberman; right front amp June 2014. Had 6 doses carboplatin, followed by metronomic therapy. Rocked it on 3 legs for over 3 years! My Warrior beat cancer, but couldn't beat old age. He crossed the Bridge peacefully on July 25, 2017, with dignity and on his terms.  Follow his blog entitled "Doberman's journey"

http://nitro.tripawds.com

"Be good, mama loves you".....run free my beautiful Warrior

Michigan
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25 October 2019 - 11:07 am
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You have to love when the medical people get involved!!  (Paula works in the lab & I'm a nurse)  🙂

Donna, Glenn & Murphy 

Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17  
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs

Donna.png

Member Since:
4 April 2019
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25 October 2019 - 12:12 pm
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I don't know about VWD in animals but I am one of the lucky humans that do have it. In was not diagnosed with it until I was 50.  after bleeding out after surgery a couple of times the doctors did not know why. I would check into it. The only reason they found mine was I failed a test to donate a kidney. Otherwise I would have never known.

My Beautiful Beloved Brownie was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma on February 26, 2019.  With all odds against him he lived an additional one year and eight days with amputation, love, and prayer.  I was honored to be his mom, and I have never been so proud!  He will live forever in my Heart!

Brownie Bubba Bell

04/01/2007 - 03/05/2020

"March Saint"

Member Since:
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5 November 2019 - 6:41 pm
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Just giving an update since a few people have been kind enough to reach out on PM to check in on us. (Love this Tripawd fam!) Sorry for not getting back sooner, because, you know, life.

Zig is doing well and really has gotten back to his old self, except we still have this issue with his incision site. My living room looks like an orthopaedic clinic due to all the compression wraps, gauze and bandages everywhere. It is so frustrating and exhausting to still be dealing with caring for a post-op incision site this long after surgery. I have to keep him bandaged from the front of his chest to his belly, with a shirt on and travel pillow around him to keep him from getting to it. Yet, weeks later, it is still oozing seroma fluid and blood.

I had him tested for Von Willebrand's disease, which came back negative. To be more precise he came back as a carrier, but not affected. (FYI, just in case anyone needs any DNA testing done for diseases or genetic info I can highly recommend vetdnacenter.com. I ended up paying $39 and just mailed off a few buccal swabs and got results 4 days later. My vet's lab was 7 days for results and $250. I got him tested for degenerative myelopathy for an additional $20. Negative on that too!)

Not sure what comes next. Though the amount of bleeding has slowed it is still there, and so we are changing bandages constantly. Five weeks in and I am ready to get back to a semi-normal kinda life that has nothing to do with canine wound management. And Ziggy is ready to be done with bandages and t-shirts.

Member Since:
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5 November 2019 - 6:45 pm
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So happy to hear Zig is doing ok. In was worried when I didn't see a post. I hope everything gets back to normal soon!

My Beautiful Beloved Brownie was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma on February 26, 2019.  With all odds against him he lived an additional one year and eight days with amputation, love, and prayer.  I was honored to be his mom, and I have never been so proud!  He will live forever in my Heart!

Brownie Bubba Bell

04/01/2007 - 03/05/2020

"March Saint"

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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5 November 2019 - 9:10 pm
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Heyyyy I'm so glad you updated! Aside from the crazy incision oozing it does sound like things are good. Glad he's been tested for VWD and DM, and came back as AOK. Whew!

So what does your vet say about the continued dripping from the surgery site? You're right, it has been a long time. What are the vets' recommendations to help it heal?

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Member Since:
27 September 2019
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6 November 2019 - 6:35 am
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The plan of action from the vets seems to be keep it bandaged. The bleeding cut back enough to rule out a second surgery, so that is good. About to change out his bandages once again right now actually as it has seeped all the way through multiple layers of pads, gauze and wrap.

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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6 November 2019 - 8:07 am
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Hmmm. I'm not a vet, but that just seems like a lot of drainage to me, more than usual. Did they mention anything about what could be causing this? Like maybe a minor blood vessel that didn't get tied during the surgery?

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Green Bay, WI


Member Since:
18 May 2014
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6 November 2019 - 8:10 am
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Thanks for the update! I was so worried the news was the unthinkable! Glad you got some stuff ruled out, but how frustrating to not know the cause. Is your vet at all worried about what's going on? Paws crossed that it straightens out soon and you both can move past this.

Paula and Warrior Angel Nitro

Nitro 11 1/2  yr old Doberman; right front amp June 2014. Had 6 doses carboplatin, followed by metronomic therapy. Rocked it on 3 legs for over 3 years! My Warrior beat cancer, but couldn't beat old age. He crossed the Bridge peacefully on July 25, 2017, with dignity and on his terms.  Follow his blog entitled "Doberman's journey"

http://nitro.tripawds.com

"Be good, mama loves you".....run free my beautiful Warrior

Virginia







Member Since:
22 February 2013
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6 November 2019 - 9:20 am
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Been following your handsome Zig.  Glad to hear he's doing well.....other than "that".

Have you considered  a second  opinion from another surgeon?   LikeJerry, wondering if somehow a blood vessel is leaki g from the surgery.  Also, you might  consider posting in "Ask A Vet"  and see if our volunteer Vet had any suggestions.

Probably a silly question, but has the Vet expressed there any concern about becoming anemic?

Hugs

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!

Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!

On The Road


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6 November 2019 - 4:51 pm
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Thanks for mentioning about asking Dr. Pam, Sally! I forgot to say that.

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

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27 September 2019
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8 November 2019 - 3:10 pm
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Early on the vet did mention that it was possible there was a vessel that didn't get tied off properly, but he was super hesitant about opening Zig back up if it was possible he had VWD. Zig is doing well now and it is only oozing gunk at this point, not actively bleeding. I think we have turned a corner finally, but still have to keep it dressed to keep him from getting to it. 

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