When A Spay Becomes A Splenectomy
It was a fairly typical day at the Dutton Road Veterinary Clinic. Dr. Mahesh Patel, one of our staff veterinarians, had some free time so he began a spay procedure on Faith. Faith was a 4 1/2- year-old greyhound available for adoption at our facility.
As Dr. Patel proceeded with the spay, something seemed to be amiss. He examined the dogs body cavity and found that the spleen was significantly enlarged and a portion of surface appeared abnormal. Faith's routine spay became a splenectomy, which takes significantly longer - approximately an hour-and-a-half. At another facility, this dog might have just been spayed and then closed up. But thanks to the diligence of Dr. Patel, the spleen was successfully removed and sent off for biopsy. Faith, with some 'faith', will hopefully now live on for many, many years!
The bottom picture shows a spleen that is twice the normal size.
