How often do dogs die from spay internal bleeding or suture reaction?

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm so sorry to hear that your friend's dog lost so much blood during her surgery. While it is a routine surgery, complications like bleeding can occur. There is a chance that your friend's pet will be OK, she may require a blood transfusion if her anemia (level of red blood cells) is low enough. She may also just need time for her own body to make more red blood cells. There are lots of patients in critical care units that have lost a lot of blood that are able to be nursed back to health. I hope this is helpful!

This is probably happening due to an allergic reaction to the suture material, it is quite common. these sutures usually dissolve completely within 4-6 weeks, which might be the time it will take to resolve.

Hello. I am so sorry for your loss. Unfortunately, it sounds like more was going on with your pet than abnormal heat cycles, & it was just poor veterinary care that she woke up in the middle of surgery & needed to be sedated again. Stress & pain may have contributed to her death, but there may have been some other underlying heart disease or cancer present that was just too much for her to recover from. Please accept my condolences on your loss.

There are many reasons for post-surgical bleeding. A ligature that wasn't tight enough is one possibility, but this can also happen if the dog has a bleeding disorder, if they're too active after surgery, or even due to simple bad luck even if everything was done perfectly. Just like surgeries in humans, a small percentage of dogs will have complications that are not necessarily anyone's fault.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your puppy. I am sorry to hear of her recent experience. Injections prior to surgery can be given under the skin, in the muscle or directly into the vein. So the location of her injection is not as worrisome as the bleeding afterwards. I am glad the her clotting times were ok. She should have a CBC checked as well and potentially be screened for a disorder known as Von Willebrand disease. If these tests are all normal, then you can proceed with her spay. As far as being groggy, different drug doses may be recommended prior to her next procedure. Some dogs are more sensitive to others to drugs and that cannot be predicted ahead of time. A note in her file can be made though. I hope this information helps! I do not suspect she will have any longterm damage from the incident.

These bruises happen when blood seeps into the tissue surrounding the surgical site. This usually happens when a dog has a coagulation disorder, or the dog bled a lot during the surgery (for example when spayed during her heat) and then the blood cannot be absorbed quickly enough and seeps into the tissue. If the bruises expand more and should your dog develop white gums or pale gums, then she needs to be seen by your vet who should do a packed cell volume blood test and a coagulation panel. Dogs can easily bleed to death when there is a coagulation problem or continuous bleeding.

I am so sorry to hear that Francis isn’t feeling well. I would be suspicious of tick born infections such as ehrlichia. She could have been infected for some time, but the stress of the surgery could have caused her to become ill with it. It is also possible that she is having a rare complication to surgery such as an infection at the uterine stump. Another possible cause is that she is experiencing an immune mediated anemia and thrombocytopenia event. If she is genetically predisposed then anything can trigger it- surgery, vaccinations, infections etc. I would recommend asking for a clinical pathology review of the CBC, the total protein level can help determine if she has bled. I would recommend an x-ray or even better an ultrasound to examine the uterine stump. Best of luck and I hope you find an answer soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.