Neutering with a heart condition
 

Hi all!!

I have been recommended by my vet, whom I trust completely, to castrate my boy Alfie. He's an old boy, between 12 and 14. I have only had him for 3 months he was abandoned and I adopted him. He has a heart condition and is on medication for this. Castration has been recommended as he has a very bad erection problem. It happens to him 4 or 5 times a week and several times a day. We have been told to put it away for him as it can sometimes stay erect for 12+ hours a day (no kidding, I'm very serious). But when we put it away it just keeps coming back. It is not healthy for him at all.

Now I want to ask you guys opinion about what I should do. He checked his heart today and said he is doing extremely well on the medication. His blood work is ok too. Its more risky than usual and he will need a special anastetic (spelling?) and an injection to wake him after. I know he's old but this problem really gets him down and its so unhealthy for him. What would you all do?

I'm definately no expert. If your vet says it is ok and your vet feels comfortable doing it, then I say go ahead with it. Poor little guy. :( And bless you for rescuing him. :)

Always go by your vet's advice. Believe me he would not recommend surgery on one this age if he did not feel it was necessary. Good luck.

As with any operation on our babies, there are some risks. They have to tell you that so they won't get sued later!

If your vet says he's healthy enough, I'd do it. What he goes through sounds very painful to me.

I work at a Cardiology office -- we have hundreds and hundreds of heart patients with serious heart problems - who have to have different surgeries for different reasons. A lot of these surgeries are done on an emergent basis (hip fractures, etc.) and others are more elective - Having heart problems usually don't keep our patients from having surgeries that they need to have.

I believe that your dog absolutely has to have the surgery that your vet is recommending. I can't see that you have any choice at all. And, with the problem that your dog has -- his quality of life just has to be diminished.

I would trust my vet - again many heart conditions don't keep people (or dogs, I sure) from having surgeries that they need.

I wouldn't hesitate to get surgery for my dog if he had this problem. I definitely feel that the benefits outweigh the risks in this case.

Good luck - Carol Jean

***** Keep in touch and let us know what you decide to do and how things go....

If he is between 12 to 14 years old , why taking the risk to loose him ?

I would probably get a second opinion --this is a big decision to but an older dog through surgery. What about chemical castration -- hormone therapy? What is causing it? Could it be a nerve problem? Stimulating certain pelvic nerves can cause an erection. So, what about meds that help settle the nerve endings -- like gabapentin? These are all questions I would ask -- but ultimately you pretty much have to trust that the vet is making the best decision.

Not necessarily. I lost Starr because I didn't get a second opinion, and almost lost Luna due to bad advice from another vet. ALWAYS second guess your vet. This doesn't mean that you are disrespecting him/her, it means that you want the very best for your pets. A true animal-loving, knowledgeable vet will welcome your questions and encourage you to get a second opinion if you have doubts. Starr's old vet would roll his eyes and seem annoyed when I'd ask questions, and I should have run far away, but didn't do it in time to save her.

That said, if you trust your vet 100% and then some, then by all means follow their recommendations. But if you have the slightest doubt (and it sounds like you do, since you're posting here about this) then get a second opinion. My Starr might still have been here if I'd only not so blindly trusted her vet:cry: Ask about alternative treatments for his problem, as I've seen dogs that have been neutered (castrated) still have the erections.

I hope he feels better really soon:love:

I agree with Diego. He is 12-14, to castrate him now is a torture the old doggie. Maybe get a second opinion. They'd still be able to have erections after castration.

Because the problems he has are pretty bad. I forgot to mention previously that when he sees another female, regardless of size, that is not neutered he gets way too excited. To the point that he has breathing difficulties, due to his heart. The vet said this will change if neutered. I'm always afraid he'll have a heart attack or something. Our neighbours dog is not neutered and this happens whenever he sees her.

This erection problem is very bad for him. I have spoken to the vet about other possible solutions, medication etc and some medication may not mix well with his heart pills. We are going to talk again about chemical castration too. I am not going to make a decision until after the holidays now. I am going to England on Monday, he is not rabies jabbed, again because of the heart so he will staying with friends. I am going to talk to a vet in England next week and ask their opinion. A few months ago he had an op to remove some very badly infected teeth, he now only has 3 bless him and that went really well. The vet said he woke up quickly and normally.

I do trust my vet 200%+ he has never made a mistake and checks Alfie out every 1 - 2 months. I just wanted some opinions. Thanks to all who have helped. I don't want anything to happen to him but I want him to live a comfortable happy life for the few years he has left, if this does that for him then I will be pleased.

Oh, wow, that does sound like a bad situation:( Poor guy:cry: I'm glad that your vet is great and you trust him with Alfie's life. There's a lot of vets out there that aren't necessarily bad, they just aren't very knowledgeable about toy breeds. Since Alfie did so well with the dental surgery, I'm sure he'll be fine with the neutering as well.

I hope that you didn't take my post as harsh, or that I was knocking your vet, it's just that I've been hurt dearly by a vet's mistakes and I hate to see anyone else have to endure that:(

I dont know if they use different anesthetics in france but here they have a gas anesthetic called Isoflurene its very safe. When the gas is shut off the dog wakes up.
Its supposed to be really safe to use on little dogs.

LC598 -- By all means - since you trust and respect your vet as much as you do - follow his advise.

I think it's okay to come here to YorkieTalk to share your problems and see what people think - but remember we aren't doctors or anywhere near it.....

There is a medical term for what your dog is experiencing - prolonged - inappropriate erections. There is a similar condition for men. It is considered serious and very painful. It's common knowledge that a dog can be neutered at any age. So - keep in touch with your vet - and get another vet's opinion also (if you want to) --- but do whatever you need to do to make your dog more comfortable. Poor little guy!

Good luck - continue to keep in touch....


Carol Jean

I just read this thread for the first time.

Your poor guy! He's lucky at this time in his life to have found a loving family to take care of him.

I have no advice, but sounds like your vet knows what he(she) is doing, and you seem comfortable with that.

Let us know what you decide and how it works out.

I hope the best for both of you!