[Dailydrool] JOHNNY'S HOME!!!!

[Sandi Wittenberg]

Johnny was scheduled for removal of a small growth on his eyelid this
morning at 11:00 AM - no biggie - sedation and a quick laser zap - in and
out within an hour or so - yeah, right!  First off, they couldn't get a vein
. not even the vet and Johnny was running out of patience after 5 tries.
So, we sedated him with an IM shot since it was such a small procedure.  
As Johnny was laying on the table waiting for the vet, he was sedated and
very relaxed.  Laura, the head vet tech (we always get the best ones:-) )
was standing there with me and Johnny, and ran her hand over his side.  She
felt a hard lump, I felt it (actually I had felt it the other day but he had
gas that day . so I thought).  The vet came over, did the eyelid growth
removal, and then she felt the lump.   We took him to ultrasound and saw two
tumors on his spleen.  So, we took him directly to surgery.  They got an IV
in with some difficulty, even with him sedated.  They reversed the initial
sedation so they could administer anesthesia, and put him under light until
the sedation wore off.  I went into surgery with him, like I do for all of
our dogs.

The spleen was huge!  We saw the tumor we felt right away . then as she
pulled the spleen out, she reached up under his rib cage and pulled out this
tumor BIGGER than a grapefruit.  As soon as she slipped her hand under it to
lift it out, it exploded --- literally - all over the surgery room.  It
looked like Charlie Manson had been there.  Bad words were said by all.  So,
she dug all the spleen and its assundry attachments out of the abdomen and
suddenly Johhny almost jumped off the table . at this point it was only the
vet and I in surgery because the tech had gone to warm some saline to flush
out his abdominal cavity.  Dr. Melanie started SCREAMING "I need a tech
NOW!"  So . needless to say, the initial sedation had worn off and Johnny
was trying to wake up and his body was objecting to someone having her hands
around his spleen.  So in rush THREE TECHS and TWO VETS . turned up his
anesthesia and breathed for him for about 10 minutes.  Then every time she
tried to clamp and tie the main artery and vein from the spleen, he would
try to wake up . even though he was fully anesthesized.  I was about to come
unglued . but hung in there.  I started rubbing his ears and talking to him,
and she was able to  finish up a very messy surgery in less than a total of
40 minutes.   At 2 PM, Johnny was awake enough to be extubated and given
hydromorphone.   His IV went sub-cutaneous after surgery as they moved him.
A new IV was placed in a back leg.  
He went outside to poop about 5 PM and blew his IV.  He also started
dripping LOTS of blood from his incision . we went back to ultrasound . no
blood in the abdomen so that is good.  It appears to be blood pooling under
the skin and seeping out when he moves.  His blood counts are improving, so
they are not worried but it is messy.  They got another one in on his inner
thigh . it went sub-cutaneous at 7 PM.  They struggled for the next hour to
get another one in.  Finally got one in about 8  PM . it lasted an hour
before blowing.  At this point he doesn't have one and if he needs to have
one, the vet will have to come in and do a cut-away.  We have done a two
belly wraps and compression bandages to stop the incision leaking.  We
finally got the bleeding controlled with an ice pack about 2 AM.   He also
had hydro-morphone, went outside to potty but he was on a "where's the van"
hunt.  He also  got a sub-cutaneous bollus of fluid - no IV sites available,
another hemotocrit, antibiotics, temperature, EKG and BP.  

It was a long night but we made it!  The bleeding stopped - there is still
some seepage but that is to be expected.  His hematacrit is up to 42, his
hydration is good, he color is good, he is alert (mostly when he isn't
drugged), switched to oral meds, and fairly steady on his feet.  He lost 3.5
pounds in 24 hours so that gives you an idea of the size of the spleen and
tumors.  So, everyone agreed that he would be happier at home and that I can
monitor him at home as well as they can at the vets.  He has a ways to go in
recovery but he will do it.  Now we just pray that the tumors were not
hemangiosarcoma but I am preparing myself for that diagnosis.  My philosophy
is prepare yourself for the worst and hope for the best.
Now, I am going to crash for a couple of hours.  I got about 2 hours sleep
last night.  The vet's office set Johnny and I up in a room with an aerobed
and we "slept" on the bed together.  Well, he slept . I rubbed ears,
massaged him, petted him etc.  
Thanks for the drool and prayers.  Johnny is a very lucky boy and I am an
even more lucky Mom.  If that tumor would have burst at home, I would have
never been able to get him to the vet's before he bled out.  This was a very
close call.
Each time I have a dog with a crisis, I learn something.  The lesson learned
this time is that if you have a dog who has an unexplained weight gain and
begins to look "thick" in the waistline, try dieting but also have an
ultrasound does.  Splenic tumors are sneaky . the start growing slowly and
are soft so difficult to feel upon palpation but when they "take off" they
grow fast and are life threatening.  

Sandi & the Red Bay Boys
Grady, Hoagie, Johnny, Norm, Opie and Stachie




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