[Dailydrool] Fwd: drool and insight about splenectomy requested

[Esther Strom]

I'm a few days behind, so you may have already gotten the answers you need.

My Basil was a rescue; he needed an emergency spleenectomy about 6 months
after I adopted him. He was about 8 at the time (we think).

Assuming the surgery goes well, expect about a week of rest. Our vet wanted
Basil to be crated to prevent activity, but he got so upset in the crate
that I ended up just confining him to the bedroom. He was so tired that I
didn't really have to worry about him being overly active. He was on
painkillers and antibiotics for about a week after the surgery. He never
seemed to be in any pain after we discontinued the meds.

One thing we did find was that Basil did not want to eat while at the
hospital, which meant they had to continue IV antibiotics for longer than
planned (because he wouldn't take anything orally.) We tried everything,
even McDonald's, and he just refused. They told me after 3 days of this
that I could take a chance and take him home and see if he'd eat there, and
if there was a problem I could bring him back. As soon as we walked into
the house, Basil was looking for his food bowl, and ate right away. So just
be aware that some dogs will not eat while at the vet's. You'll also want
to feed very small meals for a few days, as the heavy-duty antibiotics and
painkillers can cause nausea. Once we got past that, there were never any
problems. This was three years ago. Basil has slowed down since, but it's
normal aging, not related to the surgery in any way.

Good luck.

-Esther, Basil, and Waldo ATB

-------------original message-------------------------
 I’ve been an avid reader of, but only occasional commenter on the Drool
for a long time. It’s been a pleasure to follow the escapades of the
various doggies on the Drool, and I have benefited from the advice I’ve
read from veteran Basset parent-persons.

Now I have a Drool request to bring before you. My beloved Basset, Bobo,
was just diagnosed with a mass on his spleen. He has only shown discomfort
with it this last week. The X-rays show the mass but don’t indicate obvious
spreading, although there is one iffy little spot that only shows in one
view. We have scheduled a splenectomy for Bobo. The vet tells us that 2/3
of these masses are malignant, but those usually show spreading. Bobo is 12
years old. Has anyone had experience with this type of operation for their
dogs? I sure would appreciate some insight about it, especially after-care
and quality of life for the patient.

These decisions are hard! We don’t want to put Bobo through unnecessary
suffering, but we also want to take advantage of any opportunity he may
have for some more quality life. He’s a big, sweet cuddle-bug. Thank you SO
much for listening and for any insight you can share.  Lois Leader and Bobo.
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