Sammy is having surgery...
 

My darling little foster, Sammy, is having surgery tomorrow. Many of you already know this little guy.

Early this morning he was at the vet for an eye infection. Other than that, he seemed fine. Now keep in mind, this little guy came to me from a shelter recently and has been diagnosed with KCS, PERINEAL hernia and also AAI; so he is a complicated little guy. Oh..and he had awful teeth which we took care of last week since there could not have been any ortho surgery until that was completed. This afternoon he refused to eat which is just not like him as he is a little chow hound. :) He just seemed to be walking oddly to me...he has a peri anal hernia and the plan was to repair that next month when he was possibly going to have surgery for his AAI. We had hoped both might be done at the same time. Anyway....he seemed hunched over as if he was trying to have a BM. I just was not comfortable with the way he looked and thank goodness I followed my instincts on this one. I called and took him back to the vet immediately. Turned out that his bladder had slipped into the hernia and the urine was trapped in there. They got it out with a syringe (he had about 36 cc of urine in there which is a lot). Had he been left like that overnight, we more than likely would have lost him.

I called the specialists and they said to have him there tomorrow morning at 8AM .. he is being scheduled as an emergency for surgery. If he has any issues during the night, I am to take him there and he will be admitted through the EC.

Please keep little Sammy in your thoughts and prayers. I am upset because he will have to be intubated again and his neck is not stable; but this surgery must be done. I am sure they will put a brace on his neck for the surgery...my vet did that last week for his dental.

I wanted to post this because this is something that I have not seen on this forum before. Hopefully, this will be informative for people. Here is a link to information about peri anal hernias in dogs:

ACVS - Perineal Hernias in the Dog and Cat

I have never seen one of these before, so it is a learning thing for me as well. I will definitely keep everyone updated about the surgery and recovery. :)

Sending prayers for Sammy that his surgery is successful in the morning.

Hope Sammy goes through his surgery in flying colors!
Oh my, that pic in the link is :eek:!

I will be keeping Sammy in my thoughts! Hope his surgery goes wonderfully well tomorrow morning! Poor sweet baby - that sounds painful!

The vet gave him an injection of Bupranex so he is sleeping comfortably right now. Poor little guy. He had been panting and I thought it was from the heat...but in the vet's office he started whimpering...that was the clue that something was really going on. He actually was better once the urine was removed.

I am stupid...it is PERINEAL hernia! Duh! Maybe I can get that changed in the original thread so it makes sense.

Oh poor little Sammy. Thank goodness you went with those instincts and took him in to the vet. Poor baby. He just has so much to deal with. Thank God you gave him Linda. Prayers and hugs to Sammy. Please let us know how it goes for this little guy.

It just makes me sick. He is so tiny. He weighs 4 pounds, but is tinier than the 3 lb one I have right now. It is hard to describe how tiny he really is. Very, very fragile little guy. I hate that he is having these issues.
At first the vet said to give him pumpkin...thinking it was a bowel issue. Thank God I pushed it a bit...he would have died. I am sure of that. :(
This is why I would rather spend the money for a vet appt and have it be nothing than to put it off a day....24 hours can be too long for one of these pups.

Poor little Sammy. I am so glad you were in tune with him and acted without hesitation to get him the care he needed. He will be in our prayers tomorrow.

I think that is the best thing to do. I have made my fair share of runs to the ER vet. 24 hours is a long time when you are sick. My husband always tells me to wait but I go with that momma instinct. Off to the vet.

Hard to believe that poor Sammy has dealt with all these issues. It is just heartbreaking. Linda, you are doing everything you can for this little guy. :) God is smiling!

Just found another link:

Perineal hernia

Looks like post op care can be a bit tricky. Poor baby.

Keeping precious Sammy in our thoughts and prayers.

I will keep Sammy in my prayers. My pom had a small perineal hernia diagnosed when she was older. Fortunately, it never got bad enough for surgery, but I was always worried it would.

I am pulling for the little guy. I am quite positive he will be just fine after a nice recovery with Aunt Linda.

I'm so sorry. I'll be thinking of Sammy tomorrow.

Sammy will be in my thoughts and prayers. He is a very lucky to be in your care, Linda.

Poor sweet Sammy and so glad you have great instincts about things like this LJ. I appreciate you teaching us something new, too.

He is in my thoughts and prayers this morning and hopefully Sammy was able to make it through the night without any complications.

Sending prayers for Sammy....

Sending lots of prayers for Sammy. Nice call LJ as usual you were right on please keep us posted.

Sending lots of prayers and hugs for sweet little Sammy.

Saying a prayer that all goes well for little Sammy.

Prayers that Sammy does well in surgery this morning and has a speedy recovery. :(

Sammy slept throughout the night and I had him at the specialist at 8AM. They explained the surgery and the risks which are not so bad....but the part about his neck really was depressing to hear. I know they have to tell you, but upsetting to hear that he could wake up paralyzed. Of course they will do everything they can to stabilize it...but there is a small risk.
So, please please say lots of prayers for him.
They had other emergencies in addition to him...one was a laryngeal thing which is more of a priority; so his surgery will be later, possibly later this afternoon.
I will update as soon as I hear from them. Going to be a long day, but he is in excellent hands.
Thank you for all of the well wishes! :)

Hoping for the best outcome possible.

Poor little Sammy. Hearing the risks is always so scary. I know they have to tell you but it still is very scary. Sending hugs and prayers to Sammy. Can't wait to hear how this little guy does today.

LJ - just saw this thread today. Will keep little Sammy in our prayers for his surgery this afternoon. Poor little guy. It is so good you listened to your instincts! You saved his life! W all the complicated medical cases you deal w, I think you qualify for university hospital status! God bless you for all you do for these little ones!

Hoping and praying for the best for Sammy. I know he's in good hands with you.

any updates?

Sending well wishes and prayers for little sammy to have a full speedy recovery after a successful surgery! Thank you for helping this little guy, sounds like he has been through so much. Im so glad you are there to help him get the care he needs. You are a true angel!