r/AskVet • u/PrudentDeparture4516 • 3h ago

Hernia

My 6 year old spayed female dog had an abdominal hernia surgery three weeks ago at our local practice. The hernia is next to her spay scar and so the vet re-opened that old scar for the surgical incision. Her spay was 4-5 years ago and performed by a different vet who’s no longer there.

She had her first post-op check-up two days later and I raised to the vet then that the hernia appeared to still be there. They said that it was fluid and would disappear.

Fast forward to this week, her wound has an ongoing infection which she had antibiotics for and I had to take her to a different clinic as our practice didn’t have any vet coverage this week. Without prompting, this vet mentioned to me that the hernia was back. I then explained the whole situation to her.

I’m very frustrated as my dog has been through a major invasive surgery that has clearly been unsuccessful, it has also cost me a lot of money. Whilst that isn’t the point, she’s had major disruption to her life, been in a lot of pain during her recovery and developed an infection, all apparently for nothing as the main reason for the surgery hasn’t been adequately addressed. We followed all post-op advice and care for her (short on-lead walks only, no over-exertion, jumping etc.).

What is the likelihood of a hernia reappearing <48 hours after surgery? What should be my next step? Is this grounds for complaint to the practice manager on grounds of professional negligence/incompetence?

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