Saving Lives

Despite what most people think, life as a normal everyday vet doesn't involve a whole lot of immediate life-saving. Mostly, our day involves vaccinations, skin problems, vomitting and diarrhea. You get the occasional sick animal that is in need of IV fluids and some medical intervention. Rarely you get a dog that ate a corn cob which gets lodged in its intestines and causes problems (see the post on August 30th, 2005 concerning Kobe the dog for further details on corn cob removal). You also get the occasional bleeding spleen with a tumor on it, intestinal tumor, things like that. Very commonly, at the end of the day, especially on the weekends, we see a lot of euthanasias.

Today was no exception - the last appointment of the day was sitting in its little slot with the dreaded white/yellow/pink slip hanging out of the top. I hate putting animals to sleep, but it's even worse when it is a pet you have never seen before - I just find it awkward to make owners feel comfortable with the fact that I, a complete stranger, will be the one ending their family member's life. It's part of the territory, but I still don't find it easy.

This was the case today - a pet which hadn't been seen at our office in about 3 years, and I obviously hadn't seen her before (seeing as I have only been a vet for 2.5 years or so). I walked into the room to find a nice family and their 14 yr old airedale terrier on the table, completely flat out. I come to find that they have brought her in to be put down because she has not been eating (although she is drinking lots), she is unable to walk on her back legs, her abdomen is distended and she has blood coming from her back end. I start to examine her - her gums are pale and dry. Her heart rate is fast. Her abdomen is distended. She is obviously in shock...I lift her tail and find pus pouring out of her vulva.

"Huh???"

I inquired about whether or not she was ever spayed - she was NOT spayed, and in fact just had a heat a week or 2 ago, and was perfectly fine until 3 days ago.

The bells start going off in my head..."PYO! PYO! PYO!" For those of you reading this that are not vets, a "Pyo" is short for pyometra - an infection of the uterus. It can be very debilitating, deadly in fact...and presents exactly like this dog.

The next dilemma - how do I tell these people my suspicion? They have already got it set in their minds that their dog is dying today. Will they be receptive to an alternative to that? Believe it or not, it can be a very touchy subject - when people bring their dogs in to be put down, they often do not want to hear that there is a chance that their condition is fixable...sounds ridiculous, but I have often had patients brought in for euthanasia that have had problems that were potentially fixable (i.e. diabetics are big ones, because some owners are too squeamish to inject them with insulin daily), but people had already got it set in their minds that it was time to call it a day.

So...I just came out with it - I said that this is a common presentation for a pyo. The way to confirm it is is via a simple x-ray - the owner quickly agreed, saying they want to give her every chance possible. EUREKA!

We snapped an xray...and suspicion confirmed - abdomen completely filled with pus-filled uterine loops. I brought the x-ray in and showed them. They were suitably impressed...then comes the discussion on whether to do surgery or not. The dog is 14 yrs old - who is to say that even if we get her through this that it won't succumb to kidney failure or cancer or some other horrible disease process in the next year? Month? Week?? Not to mention the cost of this major abdominal surgery - It ain't cheap, folks.

Despite all the negatives, there was one positive - this dog could completely turn around with the procedure, and do fantastically well...if it survives the operation, that is.

The owners decide to go for it. HALLELUJAH!

We take her back, prep her for surgery, and thank god my boss was in, because it was a BITCH of a procedure...but we got it done, and the dog survived the operation. It isn't out of the woods yet, but sometimes you just get a feeling about these things...and my gut tells me this dog is going to do just fine. I called the owners to tell them that she survived the procedure, and we will see how she does tomorrow. They were overjoyed and extremely thankful.

On my way out, after placing her on a fluid pump, piggy-backing an extra bag of fluids and making sure she was comfortable, I said goodbye to my boss on the way out.

He said, "Really good job today Brian - you saved a life."

This kinda hit home for a couple of reasons:

1) It is uncommon for us to get complimented.
2) Praise aside, and much more importantly...its not often that we save lives. Yet, saving lives is all I ever wanted to do. So when I get the chance, and it goes well, it brings a great sense of accomplishment.

Especially when I couldn't do the same for poor little Garfield.

Yes, the little G-man lives on in spirit today - he serves as my inspiration still, to not give up on a patient, even if their death may appear imminent.

Its nice to leave work late on a busy Saturday with a warm fuzzy feeling inside...and a smile on my face.