Preventing Pyometra - Page 1

Hi All,

I know there have been posting about this but I can't remember one on this topic. So I apologize in advance in there was one I missed.

I am looking to see for those of you who have had bitches that developed Pyo's and treated them medically if you used antibotics during the next heat cycles as a preventive measure. Also, did you use them until you had confirmation of pregnancy and were the litters of normal size and health. Thanks in advance!

My friend's bitch had a bout with pyo recently, and they managed to treat it without having her spayed.

Here's a link to the thread. I think the last two posts are especially interesting:

http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/bulletins_read/288610.html#290067

Just finished a week of twice daily shots and still doing the antibiotics.
If you find out it 's preventable let me know.

My vet was adamant that she either had to be spayed or bred her next heat cycle.
Only other option is Cheque drops until I'm ready to have her bred.

    I've never had a bitch with pyo, but if I did it would be a SPAYED bitch pretty quick.  Pyometra can be LIFE-THREATENING.  If it is an open pyometra, some people might risk just going uber-heavy on abx and hoping for the best.  But a closed pyo? Spay is the only way to go.
    Right up there in my list of top ten grossest experiences as a VT  ---  emergency pyo surgery  ---   first horn of uterus exposed (about the size of  a large persons' thigh) ----  then  BLOOOSH!  the thing ruptures!   Poor Dr. K couldn't move or get out of the way lest the abdomen be contaminated so he just had to hold it as literally GALLONS of pus covered him,  the floor, the surgical stand and pack  and a goodly portion of the wall. YIKES and stiiiiiiink!   I'm literally wading in pus to grab a new sterile pack, then getting gloved up so I can hold the uterine horn while he changes gloves.   Major abdominal flushing with some gentocin/saline after just in case. Dog recovered well and did well.
    You just cannot IMAGINE the amount of infection that can be held in a uterus. Antibiotics, even the best, strongest thing around is going to have a real hard time.  There has to be blood supply to carry the drugs and you are basically just running around the outside of a big bag of pus.  I would never want to risk my dog's life by trying the equivalent of putting out a forest fire by spitting on it.

Okie, that was obviously a closed pyo. My friend's bitch had an open pyometra, which is much easier to treat. I can't find one of the links I sent her, but did find one with similar information:

Breeding bitches with a history of pyometra should be mated on the cycle following treatment using appropriate antibiotic therapy and surgical insemination (whenever possible) to minimize the contamination brought into the uterus. The interval between estrous cycles is usually shortened (by 4 - 6 weeks) following medical treatment because of the shortening of the luteal phase (progesterone secretion) resulting from prostaglandin therapy. Bitches treated medically will be predisposed to recurrence on subsequent cycles, so should be spayed as soon as their reproductive careers are concluded. Mated bitches must be monitored carefully after breeding for any signs of recurrence of the pyometra prior to (and after) diagnosis of pregnancy. Pyometra and pregnancy can occur simultaneously. Approximately 30 – 50% of bitches medically treated for pyometra can be successfully bred on subsequent cycles. The prognosis depends on the amount of damage to the endometrium. This is dependent on the amount of pathology in the uterus, the length of time the pyometra was present prior to diagnosis, the response to treatment and the incidence of relapse.

http://www.reproductiverevolutions.com/files/Pyometra_in_the_Bitch.doc

Hope this helps!


Oh, and Okie? The first surgery I ever observed involved the spaying of a pregnant bitch, who'd gone septic.  It turns out the uterus had ruptured due to pyometra, and the fetuses were all dead. The vet called the other vet in to assist, and she flushed the abdoment wih saline and pen-G. The bitch came through it remarkably well.

The vet kept the ruptured uterus preserved in formalin, as a sovenir, I guess to remind him that 'routine' surgery isn't always routine!

Even though both the bitch and the puppies were mixed breed, the owner was upset at losing the litter! 

I guess it's probably just that I saw too much. Myself, I just don't think I could feel comfortable enough even with an open pyo to take the chance.  I'm sure that catching it at the very first sign would be huge factor. Unfortunately, most all the cases I saw in practice were already waaaaay too sick to mess around.

I certainly hear you on that, Okie!

Fortunately, my friend's bitch had a lot going for her: she's not quite 2 yet, and it was an open pyo with a low-grade fever. Plus, of course, she's from a really important bloodline that's almost gone now, and her owner was REALLY hoping to have at least one litter from her.

Faced with that type of situation, I would probably try to treat w/o surgery, but I know I'd be a nervous wreck until the pups were born!

Oh yes Okie!

Been there done that.  Think I had been working as a vet tech only for a month or so and there was an emergency pyo surgery.  This was a rescue Miniature Schnauzer that was supposedly spayed.  Luckily this didn't rupture, but i think the uterus filled with puss weighed 9 pounds! 

Given the circumstances of how sick the bitch was would probably determine my course of action.   I'd probably try to treat with antibiotics.  Unless it was a huge closed pyo.   

There was an older grossly obese Newfie mix that was also a nightmare of a surgery!


Kathy