Sophie – Peritonitis From Ruptured Pyometra - Treendale Vet Medical Centre

Sophie – Peritonitis From Ruptured Pyometra

The Tragedy

Sophie had been very sick that day and getting worse through the afternoon. Luckily Treendale Pet medical is open until 8pm at night. Her mum brought her in to see us. Sophie had a swollen abdomen.

When Dr Rob palpated her abdomen she groaned in pain. Sophie had been on heat about two months before she came in to see us. Dr Rob was suspicious she had a pyometra which is a nasty infection in the uterus. Dr Rob was very concerned about her level of abdominal pain and recommended a blood test and an abdominal ultrasound.

The Prognosis

The blood test showed a high white cell count but everything else was normal. The ultrasound confirmed that Sophie had a pyometra but Dr Rob could see an abdominal effusion which means fluid in the abdominal cavity. We recommended surgery immediately.

The Miracle

Surgery showed that Sophie had an abdomen full of pus. Her uterine wall had ruptured spilling litres of pus into the abdomen. This was very serious. Sophie had peritonitis. Peritonitis is an infection in the abdominal cavity and is often fatal.

A pyometra is a grossly enlarged uterus full of pus. Her uterus had ruptured because of the serious disease to the uterine wall. Pus was gushing into her abdomen causing a peritonitis. We removed the uterus and washed out her abdomen. If Sophie did not come in that night, she would have died. Sophie was a pet survivor!