Reconstructive Surgery - genitals...(sigh)

[chico2]

Bendy,I have kept an eye on Jaidas post and I am really glad she's doing better

[rainbow]

Glad to hear that Jaida is still doing well.

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by bendyfoot

I have to say I'm really impressed with her recovery so far...she's really full of beans,

Very glad to hear that ! wtg Jaida

[hazelrunpack]

, Jaida! You go, gurl!

[bendyfoot]

So today is day 4 post-op. On the advice of the vet, I took her in for a quick re-check this morning; I think my description over the phone of the incision still being a bit "oozy" made them want to double check things.

So the apointment was quick: the incision is healing well overall, the oozies continue to be just normal clear, bloody fluids draining, which is good. Swelling/inflammation of the site is minimal. The vet was really pleased with how it's coming along.

I hadn't spoke to her since the surgery, only the tech, so I asked how much skin was removed...aparently a slightly more than one inch wide strip...wow! The surgery from YouTube I posted shows maybe only a centimeter or so. I'm glad she took more than too little...I'd hate it if she needed a "touch up" because not enough skin was removed!

So we're on a good course so far...but I DO have some homework tonight: I'm to soak the incision thoroughly and try to pick off some of the crusty/scabby bits. Oh what fun!

[hazelrunpack]

Glad to hear the healing is progressing well! Good girl, Jaida! And good job, Mommy!

[lindashinn]

Hi Bendyfoot? in particular.
I am frustrated, as, my little Pom' Zoey has been suffering, and us with her,with inflamation of her vulva, for some time now.
We have tried all kinds of antibacterial ointments, diaper creams, lip balm, baby powder, and have washed her with special soap for vaginal area, and patted her dry, etc. and none of it really seems to help her much.
She will improve a little,and then the next thing we know she is itchy,and rubbing on the carpet and miserable, and crying. She will go out to pee and then be frantic because it burns,and will plead to be let back in the house and will then run to the bedroom and up onto the bed because she knows I will dry her and put ointment on her so it stops burning.
What my question is, is this:
Zoey's vulva has always seemed to be recessed, and our vet has told me that he won't consider any surgery at all, until I have dieted her down to
10 lbs. She is on a Purina OM Dog Food, the OM standing for "Overweight Managment". It is bought from the vet and it is working. She lost 1 lb. over six months.
But she and we are miserable with this problem, and I can't help wondering if it might not be a better idea for her to have the surgery done first, and then continue with the diet after the surgery.
I am determined to get her down to the 10 lbs. and maintain her weight there.
I have a postal scale that I then taped a small dog bed onto a cookie sheet for putting on top of the scale, and then hit the "tare" button so it subtracts the weight of the cookie sheet and dog bed, and it then will give me very accurate weights of any of the dogs that I take care of down to the half ounce.
I think that I am ready to take Zoey to another vet for a second opinion on this. If I honestly felt that simply dieting her down by a couple more pounds would solve the issue, I would be fine with just doing that.
But, her vulva seems so deeply recessed, that I just don't feel confident that simply dieting her down by two move pounds will fix it.
I am SO tired of trying so hard to keep after wiping and drying and washing and ointments, etc., that I honestly feel exhausted.
Anyone else have a similar experience?
Anyone have any suggestions?

[bendyfoot]

Hi there, I totally understand your frustration with the ongoing and daily cleaning, wiping, and discomfort your pet is experiencing. In our case, Jaida was not overweight at all...we are very careful to keep her lean. I'm not a vet, but from what I understand, obesity is a major cause of the extra skin that causes the problem.

My thinking would be this: if you do the surgery now, THEN lose the weight, your pom will further change her body shape...there could be loose skin or something left behind, which could mean another surgery, which you definitely wouldn't want. Weight gain after the surgery could mean the condition comes back, too...your vet probably just want to make sure that she's in optimal condition for the surgery, and wants to make sure you're committed to helping keep her weight healthy in the long run.

You might want to look around for a different food to help with the weight loss. Dry food is usually NOT helpful. Maybe go to the food forum and ask for some suggestions there. No extra treats or bites of food between meals would also be helpful. Do you free-feed or measure out her daily portions?

If you're not confident with your vet, then it wouldn't hurt get a second opinion...there's no harm in it.

[bendyfoot]

Post-op pics for days 3, 5 and 8 (yesteday) now up on the link in the encyclopedia entry.

Mission: pick all crusties - complete. It took me about 3 days to get them all off, I had to do it in stages. The incision is looking pretty good (not having all that dried blood junk on it improves its appearance a lot). It's still weeping from the bottom left side, but just blood, so that's ok. She would very much like to lick it. I think between the healing, the hair re-growth, and the stitches, it's driving her crazy. The cone is our friend. Otherwise she's fine and I'm relaxing about her activity a little bit-I was carrying her up the big stairs and had her onleash at all times outside...I'm letting her do the stairs and wander the yard a bit now, but still now playing with the other girls. She howls and screams in the house when she catches me playing frisbee outside with Heidi but darn it her sister needs some exercise!!!!

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by bendyfoot

She howls and screams in the house when she catches me playing frisbee outside with Heidi but darn it her sister needs some exercise!!!!

aww poor Jaida

[bendyfoot]

Yeah I know, I feel so bad for her She's such a big sucky-baby.

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by bendyfoot

Yeah I know, I feel so bad for her She's such a big sucky-baby.

how long does she has to wait before being ok to play outside ?

[bendyfoot]

She's going for a re-check and hopefully getting her stitches out on Tuesday...if the vet says it's ok then, then I'll let her play again.

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by bendyfoot

She's going for a re-check and hopefully getting her stitches out on Tuesday...if the vet says it's ok then, then I'll let her play again.

wooohooo ! Patience Jaida , freedom is coming !

[rainbow]

Poor, poor Jaida .....hang in there beautiful girl.

[TeriM]

Hugs and cuddles to beautiful Jaida . She will be bouncing with her buddies very soon .

[chico2]

Aww Jaida,I hope this will be it for nowno more surgery and stuff for brave,beautiful Jaida
On the other hand,imagine if she did not have you to always give her great care,whenever something is wrong
In a way,since we've know Jaida from puppy-hood,leg-amputation etc..she's like a Pets mascot

[hazelrunpack]

She's gonna be so happy after she gets her stitches out! Course, then she'll be really rarin' to go, so I hope she gets her permission to play from the vet at the same time! She certainly deserves play time! She's been such a good girl!

[bendyfoot]

Le sigh.

Things are never easy for this girl...

So she had her 12-day recheck, which was supposed to mean "suture removal", about an hour ago.

She's staying for the afternoon so they can sedate her, abrade some tissue on the incision and re-suture with a different material. I think only the sides (the "straight" parts of the inverted-U-shaped incision) are getting re-done; the top part (the curve of the U) is supposedly healing well).

She had popped the very bottom left stitch last night, and it opened up a fair bit, and bled. I suspected they would put some staples in or something, and that WAS her first thought upon seeing the open part, but when the vet started removing the sutures on the other side, basically the same thing happened.

She'll be putting more subdermal sutures in as well.

Blarg.

[hazelrunpack]

Oh, crap, bendy! Did the vet offer an opinion as to why the bottom part of the incision is being so slow to heal?

for Jaida! I hope this last treatment will get her back on track!

[bendyfoot]

Her opinion was basically: "HUH? What the...???" She really didn't have any idea.


My opinion was: "Well, it IS Jaida we're talking about here..."

[hazelrunpack]

Maybe she just had an allergy to the suturing material. That would be pretty peculiar, though, since the top part of the incision is knitting nicely.

Oh, Jaida, Jaida, what are we gonna do with ya? *sigh* I guess we'll just have to love you up in absentia and your mom will have to channel all the good wishes and healing vibes when she hugs you and makes nice-nice over you.

[bendyfoot]

I just hope the "nice-nice" doesn't involve me trying to calm another anaesthetic hangover complete with frantic spazzing and me sleeping on the floor again...

On a positive note, her lumpectomy sutures DID come out; that big thing healed without so much as a whisper of complaint!

[rainbow]

<sigh>

But they shouldn't have to sedate her as much since they're only doing resuturing this time.

[bendyfoot]

Quick update:

I shouldn't have worried, she came home comfy, relaxed, slept well, and her incision looks a million times better (updated pic on her photo album)

Also, her dermatitis is looking soooooo much better already! I'll put those pics here, 'cause they're not yucky...

About 1 week before surgery:


Today, 16 days later:

[GoldenAngel]

Poor thing! Looks like a great improvement though!!

[hazelrunpack]

Oh, that does look so much better, bendy! The incision in that second pic is looking really good, too!

[hazelrunpack]

LOL, bendy! I went out to your site to see the pic. Couldn't download it cuz it's photobucket and my connection is wonky today, but I could still see it. In the lower left-hand corner was a paid ad for "Products" and there was a mug, a deck of cards, note cards, etc, all with a picture of Jaida's surgery on it!

My thought when I saw the mug was that I sure as heck wasn't gonna put that up to my mouth!

However, I must say, the surgical site is looking much much better! (I'm just not gonna order any of those products... )

[bendyfoot]

Originally Posted by hazelrunpack

My thought when I saw the mug was that I sure as heck wasn't gonna put that up to my mouth!
)

Yeah, I just about peed myself when I first noticed the "Episioplasty Product Line"

Can you imAGINE???

[Dee-O-Gee]

Wow BF! What a difference between the before & after. Jaida's resting comfortable now? I'm sure it will only get better from here on it.

So are you gonna buy any post op Episioplasty Product Lines--maybe a t-shirt?