How did my 4 year old healthy English Bulldog die after a having a Reproductive Vaginal Hyperplasia Surgery?

Right. First of all l have to say you have all my sympathies in your very sad loss. And for sure there seems to have been a distinct lack of communication between your vet and you as to the possible risks involved in this surgery. However, every single time a dog goes under a general anaesthetic, even given that anaesthesia today has far less risks than ever before, there is still a risk. And a Bulldog is, I'd think, a high risk breed. At the least, this vet should have done every check before putting her under to establish whether or not she was a good candidate for surgery. It's still a sad fact that sometimes the unexpected happens. This is by no means letting these vets off the hook here. This is ghastly. Was she lost while on the table, or afterwards, while in recovery? I can't quite figure this out from your description and it is significant I'd think. What you need to do, after you have sat back and allowed the dust to settle - you are naturally shocked, devastated etc.etc. right now, is find out what channels are open to you in terms of reporting what's happened to the governing body for Vets in your country. You are talking dollars, so I guess you are in the States? Write down everything that has happened, from your side of the story (as you have here). Speak with the relevant people (governing body for vets) and see what they say. You might get 'closed ranks'. Get yourself a good lawyer, one who knows about dogs if possible and can look on this as a malpractice situation. I would caution you that you may have an uphill battle ahead, and you will have, once you have got over the shock, have to decide whether you want to take this further, or not. Whatever you do won't bring your lovely ****** back at the end of the day. I would expect the vet practice NOT to bill you (we sued in the UK over a delayed C.Section (long sad story) that resulted in the loss of over half the litter, and the inability to take another litter from my Champion ****** and the Practice didn't submit a bill for the Section that was eventually performed). You may be able to claim damages ........ whatever you decide to do, I wish you luck, and again, my sympathies.

Lindsay B grow the heck up! as for the main, i am sorry for the loss of your beloved Bree i know you can sue for what they have done. some people are just ignorant. remember for future reference. 1. the longer you leave the need for surgery the more complications. 2. don't agree with a vet if they refuse to tell you the possible complications. it is very common for some dogs to just not wake up not just bulldogs they should have taken better care because it was that breed and they do have very bad breathing problems. renowned for them really i would probably sue for the surgery and the basically from what you said fake consultation. 3. go online and look for possible complications with your breed so this will never happen to you they should have monitored this dog during recovery that means monitoring the breathing because as i said it is fairly common for a dog to go under and not come up more people do need to be aware of this and the older the dog the more risks of this..

I am so sorry for your loss. I would ask your vet what type of anesthesia they used. A bulldog should be put under using ISO, NOT NOT NOT ACE. I cannot stress that enough. Many many bulldogs have died from vets using the wrong anesthesia. Our vet even has a tech sit with the bulldogs until they are fully recovered from the anesthesia and are up, alert and walking around. Also, do you see a bulldog vet? There are numerous vets out there that specialize in bulldogs, you can find a list of them on the Bulldog Club of America website. I would only take ours to a vet on that list. Also, if I were you, I would have a necropsy done so you can know exactly how she died. Again, I am so sorry for your loss.

I truly feel your pain in the loss, I had one of those losses in my best dog I had when I grew up had a surgery to get her fixed. My parents felt that was needed to avoid male dogs marking our yard, her getting pregnant and the male dogs always "visiting"then. I now disagree with that as SOME breeds like her being a black lab and prone to hip displasia made her die at 6 years old then. She had complications from the surgery they said, it worsened as she aged some , ended up anemic and then died. I felt it was tragic to watch her live her days that way, frail and unable to walk out the door to go the bathroom. She had a seizure later on and died the vet claimed when my parents took her there. I feel that this is the worst way for an animal to have lived. The vet SHOULD have told you the risks. If you both didn't hear him say of any then and you are CERTAIN he didn't , I'd file a lawsuit. It won't bring back your dog but can get you some reimbursement for this now. I feel that you should not have been charged such for a consultation. In hopes that you find some comfort in this now, google Rainbow Bridge, read it and find that you are not alone in your grieving. If you want and need to talk further of this I can be reached by email also.

First of all, I am so very sorry for your loss. Truly, I am. It is heartbreaking and I hope, in time, you can be comforted by the memories you have. Unfortunately, bulldogs are exceptionally prone to a myriad of health problems. While most of the time they handle anesthesia and surgery well, it's been my experience that they do have a tougher time than a lot of other breeds making recoveries from it. Anesthesia and surgery presents inherent risks in even the healthiest of dogs. Most certainly you signed some sort of release stating you agreed to the procedure (???). My vet makes me do that every time I go in for even bloodwork to be drawn. The sad truth of the matter is, sometimes dogs die while under anesthesia. It is a risk. It's a relatively low risk, but it's always a risk. Your dog may simply be one of those very sad cases. It is likely that no malpractice was involved and it just happened. Without pursuing a long and protracted legal course of action, you will never know for sure what happened. And even under those circumstances, it may be exceptionally difficult and expensive to find out. At the very least, you can open up a formal inquiry with the local veterinary board and try to get some questions answered. Again, I am so sorry that this happened.

Wow, long post. Why not have a necropsy done?