hi all My 10 year old Barney had an op to remove a tumour in July (fortunately benign). He's got another kind on his back leg which vet thinks is benign but needs to remove. Because it's not attached to bone, it'll be a quick 10-min op. But obviously I'm worried as he still has to go under. And my main worry is what if this keeps happening. Two ops in a year seems ok-ish as he's still extremely fit & healthy. Just wondered if others could share their experiences. Thanks & merry Christmas to you all x
Hi there My boy ruptured his first cruciate at 8 months old, and his second six months after he'd fully recovered from the first op. What with x-rays to diagnose the problems, to template up for the titanium plates that were needed for the repairs, the ops themselves, the 8 week checks on bone healing....and so on....I think he had about 8 or 9 general anaesthetics in about 18 months. I was worried about this at first, but he was healthy and fit (other than the cruciate problems) and the risk is very low. He did have a fainting fit at one point (this was because he got stressed - hardly surprising) and we ended up doing the rest of the GAs at Cambridge vet school with a specialist anaesthetist and crash team on hand. But, through all that, I never really thought that the risk from having GAs was high. It wasn't the thing I worried most about really. There is a risk, and you can reduce it by having your dog in specialist facilities, but I do not think it is a very high risk. Have you spoken to your vet to get an idea how risky it is for a 10 year old dog? I'm sure he'd advise if there was a high risk.
Our old Lab Scooby had one on his chest that interfered with his harness. We had it removed, but his recovery was long - he had to have a drain in as the pocket left was big. He was miserable. Sadly he fell ill just as he was recovering from his op and we lost him. I wish, over and over, that we'd never put him through the op, his last month would have been so much happier.
Thanks for replying. I'm sorry to hear about your dog's cruciate. The vet isn't concerned as it's such a short op & Barney is very fit for his age. I'm just praying this doesn't continue as I wouldn't want to keep putting through ops. Equally, he seems like he has so many years in him yet, bless him x
To be honest, if he's fit and your vet isn't concerned then I wouldn't worry about the GA - these days, it's really pretty safe. Charlie is back to full fitness now, and enjoying life like only a crazy Chocolate Labrador boy can. Best of luck with your boy.
If you feel that there should be some gap between his op then talk to the vet about this. Ask the vet to give him some alternatives and after some time go for the op.
