Surgical management of dystocia in a three-year-old Lhasa apso bitch: a case report

In this case report, a Lhasa-apso bitch that experienced dystocia at term before the delivery of the first serial foetus was presented to the clinic. The bitch had been straining for over 24 hrs during which a clear-fluid vaginal discharge was observed about 2 hrs before presentation. Physical examination of the patient revealed a protruding membrane through the vagina and life foetuses proximal to a dead one. The history and findings of the physical examination guided the indication for an emergency caesarean section to save the life foetuses. The first foetus was mal-postured and died in utero but two life foetuses were delivered by caesarean section. The patient was subsequently spayed as requested by the owner. The post-surgery haemogram showed normochromic normocytic anaemia, lymphocytic leucocytosis, neutropenia and thrombocytopenia despite that the bitch was apparently healthy. A routine post-surgical three-day antibiotic cover, anti-inflammatory and haematinic were administered post-surgery. The patient was discharged three days post-surgery as all vital physiologic parameters were normal and puppies suckled normally. This case reaffirms the importance of history and proper clinical examination as guides for appropriate management of dystocia case. It also emphasises the need to interpret the haemogram of a dystocia patient in the context of the normal physiologic changes of a periparturient bitch. The haemogram was considered a normal finding in the circumstance of dystocia in the patient.