Before Anal Sacculectomy

It's been a long day... where do I even begin.  I suppose 5:30 in the morning is best...

I was up at the crack of dawn because first I couldn't sleep and second I had a horrible upset stomach... if you get my drift.  Even typing this now, makes my stomach do back flips.  Of course, once I was up that meant Remington was up and ready for breakfast.  Dan then got up and took him to potty and surprisingly he didn't fuss too much about not eating.  I was happy about that.  I'm sure feeding him 4-5 treats at around 9:30ish helped curve his appetite a bit.  We all got ready and loaded up the Element for the hour and a half trip to Purdue.  Below are pics of Dan and I saying our goodbyes since we weren't sure if we would get a chance to do this once we got there.

Traffic was not bad at all for the drive.  We actually made great time and made it to Purdue 30 minutes before our scheduled appointment.  Better early than late I always say.  The hospital was really nice.  I felt like I was in a hospital for actual people.  When we walked in of course everyone was loving on Remington and telling us what a beautiful dog he is... We checked ourselves in and then waited for our name to be called.  Remington coward between Dan and I's legs since by this time he figured out something was going on.

Soon a student, Brandy, called us back and talked things over with us. She is the student who will be caring for Remington for the duration of his stay.  We gave her all of Remington's history and then she took him back for a full physical and other tests.  At this point I was a little unsure of her because as she was pulling Remington away from us he was pulling her toward us.  I wondered if she was going to be able to handle him. Of course, I shouldn't judge because at times I can't handle him myself. We sat out in the waiting room while all the tests were going on.  Once called back in, Brandy said... "Man, he's a big boy!" LOL!  I told her not to let him take advantage of her.  She said... "Okay, I'll tell him his Mom told me that."

The vet that will be doing the surgery came in shortly after that. Am I a bad doodle Mom because I don't remember the DVM's name!  EKKKK!  He was awesome and did a great job going over everything that will be taking place in the next couple of days.  He will be doing a closed technique surgery, which I was kind of surprised about, because most vets do a open technique surgery because of its speed even though it increases the risks.  However, a closed technique surgery, even though it lasts longer will lower the risks dramatically!  Here is a picture of what the closed technique surgery looks like...

Closed techniques attempt to keep the anal sac completely intact, and dissection is directed from the base of the gland toward the duct. The vet will make a vertical incision lateral to the anal orifice over the base of the sac. He will use careful sharp and blunt dissection to free the anal sac from the muscular fibers of the external anal sphincter. The most difficult part of the procedure can be dissecting the anal sac away from the surrounding tissue.  Of course the risks of the surgery is incontinence as well as a few others, but doing the surgery this way will lower those risks greatly.  The vet said that only 2% of dogs will have this problem and because Remington has healthy glands with no scar tissue or infections this will lower the risks even more.  The surgery will last 1 1/2 hours to remove both of the glands.

It was then my turn to ask him the questions.  I told him that I had 2 full pages worth of questions and he just laughed and said... "Well, I'll go ahead and sit down then."  I asked him about Remington's recovery period.  He said that after the surgery Remington will be monitored very closely for the next three days.  After that we will be able to pick him up (Friday).  He will have stitches on both sides of his bum and have to wear a lamp shade around his head for the next two weeks.  We will have to make sure to keep him calm and not have him running around.  It will be okay to have him go up and down the stairs, but the vet suggested that we leash him so he doesn't go to fast.  By the time that we get him on Friday he should be pooping okay and there should be nothing oozing out of the incision area.  We will not have to bring him back to have the stitches removed, they can be removed by our normal vet here in Indy after 14 days.

I asked him about pain medications and antibiotics that Remington would be on.  He will be on one pain med for 7 days after he leaves.  He was put on antibiotics the day that he got there and will remain on them for 14 days since the risk of infections will be high because of the area it is in.  The main side effects of these meds will be vomiting and diarrhea, so we will have to watch that and make sure he stays hydrated and take him out to potty more often.

I asked about Remington's diet after surgery.  The vet suggested that we get canned food to feed him, so this will soften his poo a little bit and not make it as painful during the bathroom time.

I asked about what would happen if an emergency would arise, who should I call?  They said that the clinic is open 24 hours a day so call them anytime that I had questions or if I was worried about something.  This made me feel very reassured.  The vet also told me that while Remington was there Brandy would call me twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening to update me on how Remington was doing.  The vet will also call me right after the surgery to let me know how things went.

So, we left after speaking with them both and I made the vet and Brandy reassure me that they were going to take good care of Remington.  They both did. Brandy told me that she would call me later in the evening to let me know how Remington was doing and when the surgery would be scheduled for Wednesday.  We paid for half of the cost then and will have to pay the rest when we pick Remington up.

We did not get to say goodbye to Remington... this was really hard on me, but actually probably better.  I completely broke down right after we were out of the doors of the hospital.  It isn't because I don't think he is in great hands, it is just dealing with having to leave him and be without him for several days.  He is a best friend to me and I hate that I can't be there to comfort him during these next few days.

At around 4:30 in the evening Brandy called.  She said that Remington was resting in his kennel and was doing very well.  She said he is a very sweet dog and she has been extremely impressed with how smart he is and that he listens and does all the commands she has asked him to do for her.  Of course, at this point he hasn't ate since 5:00 Monday evening, so he would probably do anything for her if he thought he was going to get some food. HA!  The surgery is scheduled for 3:00 on Wednesday afternoon.  I was a little shocked to hear this, because this means he will not eat for 2 days straight. YIKES! They won't allow him to eat anything because they want his system to be completely cleaned out for the surgery.

The house is very lonely and quiet.  Dan and I have been keeping busy to keep our minds off things.  We miss him terribly, but know that this is something that needed to be done and that we did our very best to find the very best vet to do this surgery.  Please say a little prayer Wednesday for the vet doing the surgery and for our sweet Remington Bear!

More to come after tomorrow and the surgery is over with.