Unhappy with vet - should I pay?

Woolington

Hi all,

long story cut short - vet operated on my dog to remove a lump from his leg. He admitted that there was not a lot of skin left to seal the wound and that the wound was tight.

Ive done everything by the book and despite antibiotics and complete bedrest the wound continued to become more inflamed and the stitches tighter till they burst in two different places.

He now wants to re-stitch the wound and charge me again, but this time using 'traction stitches' which will 'take the strain out of the wound'. Given that he knew the wound would be tight and troublesome, why didn't he use them in the first place? Should I pay the full amount? or at all?

thanks in anticipation

borkid

When my cat had to be operated on she needed pins put into her leg, she'd torn the tendons out. After about 6 months we noticed that one of the pins was coming through the skin. We took her back and he operated again to take the pin out. He only charged us for the medication needed ie the anathestic and not his or the nurse's time.

Maybe a similar compromise with your vet. Has your dog actually had the op yet?

Woolington

Hi Borkid,
no, I take him tomorrow at 8.30. I don't know whether to say that I'm not happy before the re-stitch or after? I don't want to jeopardise him being stitched, but at the same time it feels dishonest to object after the event...

I agree that a compromise is the answer. I hoped that they might have suggested a reduction in costs today :-( I don't feel I should have to fight to get them to be reasonable - did you put up an objection? or was your vet reasonable?

borkid

When we took her and showed him the pin he offered. Having said that we did pay for a few follow up consultations at the inital op so maybe he considered it part of that fee. I think the original op and all the overnight stays ( 5 nights), x-rays etc were over £1000. He also gave us his home phone number and told us to call at any time if we were worried. It is an independant vets though so maybe that is the reason he can be more flexible.


Has your vet told you what the bill will be? Maybe you could ask him why he didn't use traction stitches to start with, there might have been a good reason.

sheramber

It is always a possibility that a metal pin or plate will be rejected.

It doesn't mean anything wrong was done. It is the dog's body rejecting a foreign body.

Woolington

thank you both!
I think I won't get anywhere without questioning it. :-(

Ive had bad experiences in the past with vets, we've had this one for 10yrs, so I'm a bit hurt that they are, in my eyes taking advantage of me. Hopefully it's an oversight that we can come to an agreement over. I'll post back when it's all over - thank you for your replies.

borkid

sheramber wrote: »

It is always a possibility that a metal pin or plate will be rejected.

It doesn't mean anything wrong was done. It is the dog's body rejecting a foreign body.

Sorry I think you are muddling up what happened to my cat and the OPs dog. His was for stitches it was my cat that had the pins I was using it as an example that my vet comprimised on his fees when more work on the original complaint was needed.

Merlin's_Beard

Unfortunately wounds not holding is a recognised complication of taking a lump out of a place with not much spare skin, so it's possible that your vet did everything right and it still happened. It's not always possible to predict how much inflammation is going to happen post-op - and inflammation interferes with/slows down wound healing and makes stitches popping more likely.

Woolington

Unfortunately wounds not holding is a recognised complication of taking a lump out of a place with not much spare skin,

All the more reason for him to have used traction stitches in the first place. and an antibiotic covering too which was my argument. I shouldn't have to pay all over again because he didn't take these precautions. A £400 op became an £800 op! it's an expensive mistake for me!

Update: I explained that I was unhappy when booking him in with the nurse today. The vet, usually very friendly, seemed to be avoiding me BUT at the end of the day at paying time, the bill was halved. I think like your situation Borkid, the vet made a compromise. I'd have liked it if he'd explained that that was what he was doing as it's all left a bit awkward now and we've had a very good relationship over the years. I'm sure I'll get over it! !I think I'm happy on the whole :-)

How's Mrs Cat doing now Borkid? Mr Dog is sparko tonight.

Merlin's_Beard

I feel like I should point out a correction there - antibiotics do not work against inflammation, they only work against bacterial infection. They are absolutely not necessary with a clean lump removal, no matter how tight the skin. They should only be used if there's actually infection present.

borkid

Woolington wrote: »

Unfortunately wounds not holding is a recognised complication of taking a lump out of a place with not much spare skin,

All the more reason for him to have used traction stitches in the first place. and an antibiotic covering too which was my argument. I shouldn't have to pay all over again because he didn't take these precautions. A £400 op became an £800 op! it's an expensive mistake for me!

Update: I explained that I was unhappy when booking him in with the nurse today. The vet, usually very friendly, seemed to be avoiding me BUT at the end of the day at paying time, the bill was halved. I think like your situation Borkid, the vet made a compromise. I'd have liked it if he'd explained that that was what he was doing as it's all left a bit awkward now and we've had a very good relationship over the years. I'm sure I'll get over it! !I think I'm happy on the whole :-)

How's Mrs Cat doing now Borkid? Mr Dog is sparko tonight.

The op was 3 years ago. She's into everything , jumping everywhere and keeps bringing in her little 'friends'. I am getting used to cleaning up mouse entrails or catching live ones! Actually she's brilliant. After the op though we had to keep her confined for about 3 months, a large dog crate came in very handy, her leg was all bandaged up as well, very funny.

Glad it was all sorted.