Other any experience with fecal incontinence after tail amputation?

[vkaydocter]

hello all,

this is my first post. my 3 year old girl had her tail amputated 2 days ago after a year and a half of trying to treat her chronic tail pocket infections and skin irritation conservatively. she had an inverted screw tail which was extremely tight and difficult to care for. we saw 2 vets both of whom recommended the surgery after telling us it was the worst tail they had seen in practice. we went to a reputable animal hospital with an experienced surgeon.

we brought her home yesterday. she seems to be doing ok in terms of pain control. however i am sick with worry because she is having almost constant poo accidents. her stool is very loose so i am trying to tell myself it is just an upset stomach from anesthesia and the antibiotic that she is on. overnight she dropped two very small formed stools in her sleep... so it's not only diarrhea. she does not seem to realize when she is going and that is making me so worried that this is due to a complication from the surgery. my mind is racing and panicking about how i would be able to care for a fecal incontinent dog (one with a long life ahead of her). i am losing my mind after just 24 hours of constant butt wiping and cleaning poo from the floors and her bed.

our surgeon was confident that there was no damage to surrounding nerves or muscles. he said that it could be that her entire backside is in pain and irritated. he said to feed her a bland diet and wait it out.

i did a lot of research prior to making the decision to have the surgery done. i think read every thread posted on this site about tail amputation. with the exception of one person who had issues with wound healing and infection after surgery, the majority seemed to have an excellent outcome.

can anyone please provide some insight on this? is this normal? will it pass? or should i just start ordering the dog diapers now?

worried sick,
b's mama

Hello I am dealing with this too and wondered how it went for you?

 

[vkaydocter]

Hello my girl had her tail partially amputated a couple day ago and she seems to be pooping a little bit without even knowing she is. Is this normal?

 

[2BullyMama]

Hello my girl had her tail partially amputated a couple day ago and she seems to be pooping a little bit without even knowing she is. Is this normal?

call you vet, there could be nerve pain

 

[vkaydocter]

Thank you. Just back from the vet and said she thinks it's just from the surgery and maybe pain from the incision.

 

[vkaydocter]

thank you for your replies. today seems to be bit better so far but she also doesn't have much in her stomach. it is just sickening to think that we thought we were doing what was best for her but may have created an even bigger problem.

Hi JCK219 if you are still on here I would love to know how it worked out.

- - - Updated - - -

Hi JCK219 if you are still on here I would love to know how it worked out.

 

[2BullyMama]

Thank you. Just back from the vet and said she thinks it's just from the surgery and maybe pain from the incision.

good! Keep an eye on it, but should be fine after a few days. My boy had his done at around 10 months without issue, he is 6 now and it was the right decision for him