A Pyometra or Womb Infection in Bitches
Pyometra is a common disease in female dogs and although it is easy to diagnose, it can be very worrying in your old pet. Older female bitches that are not spayed and are one to two months beyond their season are at high risk of developing a pyometra.
Intact females of all ages that receive hormone injections to delay their heat or if there has been a mismating are also at risk. Spayed animals are rarely affected.
A pyometra often results from your pet's own bacteria within the genital tract. E. coli is the most common bacteria identified in pyometra. Whenever levels of the reproductive hormone progesterone rise (a few months after a season), the uterine lining becomes susceptible to bacterial infection.
Signs of a pyometra
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occurs about 2 months after a season.
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a vaginal discharge which appears yellow and smelly or bloody.
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fever which results in your pet losing her appetite.
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drinking and thus urinating excessively due to being dehydrated.
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some bitches may go into shock if there is a 'closed pyometra'. This is where the thick infection is unable to pass out through the cervix and the infection enters the bloodstream.
Most patients are diagnosed using history, clinical signs, physical examination, a blood test (which show a raised white cell count) and abdominal x-rays or an ultrasound scan.
Pyometra requires prompt treatment or you may lose your pet. Antibiotics to fight the infection and intravenous fluids to correct the dehydration are routinely administered.
Your pet is then admitted straight away for surgical removal of the entire affected uterus and ovaries. It is performed as we would a spay but is obviously a far more risky procedure due to the infection. Both horns of the uterus or womb are filled with thick pus.
The circulating bacteria in the blood can also affect the heart so they are a slight anaesthetic risk, but it is a risk worth taking or you would lose your pet.
Other tests if this condition is suspected in neutered bitches involve the use of an ultrasound to pick signs of a 'stump pyometra'. This is very rare.
Prognosis
Prognosis following ovariohysterectomy, or spay is good if there is no uterine rupture or other source of contamination.
If there is contamination of the abdomen with the infected pus from the womb, then these patients will certainly be hospitalized for longer periods of time as your pet would need intensive care. The prognosis for such patients is guarded. We would make you aware of how the operation went.
Most patients are released two to three days after uncomplicated surgery. Antibiotics are continued for seven to 10 days after most procedures.
Other means of Treatment
While surgery is considered the treatment of choice for companion animals with pyometra, owners of valuable breeding animals or owners of very old pets may elect to treat pyometra medically.
Stable patients are given an injection on days 1, 2 and 8 to stimulate uterine contractions and to decrease the blood progesterone level. This means of treatment has a 95% rate of success but the side-effect is the discharge which is basically pus that will drip from your bitch continuously for the length of treatment.
Prevention
An elective spay of your young pet will virtually eliminate the possibility of pyometra. Avoidance of oestrogen or progesterone injections will decrease the risk of pyometra in both young and mature pets, so avoid any mismatings.
If your pet has to have the hormone injection if there has been a mismating, have your bitch spayed within a few months of the injection to prevent a pyometra developing.
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