Just back from the vet. - Democratic Underground

trof

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Sat Jan-03-04 05:34 PM
Original message

Just back from the vet.

Sweet Jesus. What next?
Nasha, our geriatric German Shepherd, got twisted gut/torsion again. Third time in four years. Luckily we now recognize the symptoms. If it's not corrected, the dog dies a very painful death (think MASSIVE stomach cramps), in a very short time.

We call David, our vet, and meet him at the office in 15 minutes. He is tops on my list for sainthood. The office is closed today, so I am assistant vet. Miz t. cannot bear to see this.

We have to get a tube down her throat, into her stomach, to relieve the rapidly building gas pressure. She is blowing up like a balloon. We (he) also have to try and figure WHICH way her gut twisted and try and "unwind" it.

Since she's already having trouble breathing, he can't use gas to put her under, so he shaves one foreleg and starts an injection of pentathol. When she's almost under, he intubates her with the gas. She's out. Now he begins to try and get a 3/8" plastic tube past the twist above her stomach. He slides it as far as he can, twisting it to follow the path it must take. Then pulls it out to measure against her body to see how far he got. Not there yet. More pushing and twisting. Still not through. He grabs a plastic brace that looks kind of like a turkey roasting rack. We roll her from her right side onto her back, on the rack, to keep her there. He quickly secures all four paws to the sides of the operating table so she can't inadvertently roll back on her side. She's out like a light anyway. About this time her bowels go. The stench is almost overpowering. More trying to get the tube down. This goes on for several minutes. "If I can't get this down to her stomach pretty soon, I'll have to open her up or she'll be gone in 15 minutes."

I step out to the waiting room to tell Miz t. She is sobbing. Nasha had this surgery the first time she had torsion, four years ago. It was another vet, one who happened to be on call at the time. When he got her straightened out, he tacked her stomach to the side of the cavity with a few stitches to try and prevent this happening again. As we now know, it doesn't always work.

As I'm breaking the news to Miz t., David yells "I think I got through!". I run back to the OR. Looks like it's through, at least partially. A thick, white, meringue-like foam starts to come out of the tube, followed by yellow looking bile stuff. And then it stops.
He pulls the tube out again and the end is clogged with a piece of chicken, or wad of hair, it's impossible to tell what the yuck is. Need a bigger tube. He comes back with a 3/4" one and manages to get it down her. Now a lot more stuff comes out. More foam and bile and half-digested food. Looks like we're home free.

"Now we just have to figure out which way she's twisted and which way to roll her to try and get it untwisted." We roll her left. David pulls lightly on the tube.
"It feels tighter that way."
We roll her back right.
"Feels looser now. I think we've got it."

He removes the tube and the gas tube. Cranks the stainless steel table so that her head is lower than her body. I hold on to her to keep her from sliding off. She starts breathing on her own in a minute and moves her head. The she barfs. Boy, does she barf.
David says "Good girl. Get it up."

She's breathing regularly now and her pulse rate is relatively normal. David and I look at each other. Vomit and shit are splattered down our shirts and pants. We start laughing and then do a high five. YES!
I want to kiss him.

"I'll keep her here overnight, but I think she'll be fine. Hey, while she's still groggy, I'll clip her nails. (He knows Nasha HATES having her nails clipped. Now is a good time.) She's gonna need a bath when she's a little steadier. She is RIPE!"
I don't know if David's other patients think he is the best vet on the planet, but we do. Oh yes. We do.

That was my Saturday afternoon.
How was yours?