Hi all! I was hoping to post to get some feedback/recommendations/expectations from individuals who may have had similar experiences with our current situation.
Our ~10 year old spaniel mix (26lbs) had an acute disc extrusion at L1-L2 surgically decompressed surgically back in 2023 (two surgeries- primary and revision after complication).
Then, just last week, we noticed a flare up and on April 21st he had another surgery for an intervertebral disc herniation at L5-L6.
With this recent flare up, our dog was having trouble urinating (it would dribble out when he was walking) and defecating (he was able to have partial bowel movements with assistance of manual expression). We took him in for an MRI and he went right into surgery on the 21st.
Immediately after this recent surgery his urination got much better and he seems much stronger in his back legs. However, he has not had a bowel movement since surgery (writing this 3 days post surgery). There is nothing that I can seem to manually express like before. We have given him some pumpkin puree with his meals. His food and water intake is normal. We are starting to worry about him not being able to deficate.
He has also had some bowel leakage on numerous occasions. While not in any apparent pain (he is still on his discharge meds from the neurologist), he does seem to be itchy/agitated with his bum.
The doctor said it takes several days to regain the ability to have a bowel movement but we are starting to get concerned. Does anyone have any similar experiences or recommendations they can share? Thanks in advance!