4087. DRAFTDr Sing's Canine caesarean section in 2004

Water bag

The appearance of the water bag outside the vulva tended to confuse the new breeder.  Would the puppy be coming out soon?  How long should he wait before consulting the vet?  What happened if the bitch ruptured the water bag with her teeth and lots of clear water spilled out. Should he wait for the puppy to be delivered and how long should he wait?

Once the water bag appears and no puppy is delivered for over 30 minutes , an experienced breeder will rush to the veterinary surgeon for an emergency Caesarean delivery. If surgery is done within 60 minutes, chances are that the puppy will still be alive and not stressed out.

-------------------------------------

Uterine inertia

2 water bags

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------

Fighting to be first It is not very common to see TWO water bags in any bitch. This meant that two puppies were jammed up inside the birth canal (vagina) and time is of the essence to save the puppies and this means an emergency Caesarean delivery. The Silkie bitch was accidentally mated by a Sheltie. The puppies were larger than ordinary Silkie. Would they be born naturally if the two water bags had not presented themselves?  It is hard to say.  To provide affordable Caesarean surgeries, no X-rays were taken. The breeder thought there would be two large puppies. After all, Shelties are larger than Silkies and the crosses would be definitely larger. The bitch did not look heavily pregnant. Surprisingly, four Silkie X Shetland puppies were delivered by Caesarean section after midnight and were strong and vigorous.  They grew up well and two were vaccinated by me at around 14 weeks old (see picture below).   Very attractive cross bred puppies. Small bitches will mate with large dogs even though the owners think that they cannot do it.

Case 3: Dystocia - Uterine Inertia. Case seen in February 13 2010 on Chinese New Year's Eve 2 hours before my reunion dinner. See full report at: Oxytocin injection and wait or an elective Caesarean section?

I was the observer at the above Caesarean section on this 2010 Chinese New Year's Eve. As I had no car, I rode pillion on a motorcycle similar to the ones in the pictures above, to visit the vet with a salt and pepper Miniature Schnauzer with dystocia (difficulty in giving birth). The vet had given an oxytocin injection. If the dog or cow has dystocia, give oxytocin first. Puppies would then be born naturally. So easy as that? But you can't tell that oxytocin injections in a heavily pregnant Miniature Schnauzer will lead to natural delivery of 5 pups. So, the vet has to step down from theory to practical aspects. Waiting and waiting will mean some delays and possible deaths of a pup or two. Or even the death of the dam. Only the vet can make a decision as to whether to perform an elective Caesarean section or not. In this case, oxytocin was given. Nothing happened for half an hour. It was wise for the vet to perform the Caesarean section and the outcome was excellent. The white pup was larger and might not be born alive if there was more delay waiting for oxytocin injection to work. The owner wants a happy ending and in this case, all 5 pups were vigorous and the dam was safe.   The above reports on canine entropion and dystocias are written primarily for the veterinary undergraduates introducing them to a brand new animal world they don't usually see as Singapore is not an agricultural country. Undergraduates are encouraged to write their medical reports to improve and store their knowledge to make themselves better veterinarians.