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How often do dogs die from spay internal bleeding or suture reaction?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Labrador Retriever | Female | spayed | 6 months and 5 days old | 70 lbs

I would just like to get further information. My brother's 8 month old black lab was spayed about a week ago and this past saturday she passed away from internal bleeding. The vet that examined her determined that one of the causes was due to a reaction she had with the stitches used. This caused inflammation in her system. She was given sedatives and tranquilizer so we feel strongly that she did not feel pain upon her death. Would like to get your opinion of how often this occurs.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr Stafford, BVetMed, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on June 20th, 2017

Poor Stella! Unfortunately one of the potential risks of a bitch spay is that they may have a haemorrhage. It is rare nowadays but can still happen. There is a blood supply straight off the aorta to the ovaries being removed. Often underlying conditions such as bleeding disorders make this more likely, or in Stella's case the fact that she reacted to the sutures could have contributed. I'm really sorry this happened and I'm sure your vet did everything they could. From what you say I doubt she felt any pain.

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    Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

    Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on

    I'm very sorry to hear about Stella's passing! How awful. Thankfully, it's quite rare for an animal to have severe bleeding or death following a routine spay, but it does happen occasionally. This is most often due to one of the sutures slipping off of the ovarian blood vessels within the first day or two after surgery, but it can also happen due to a clotting disorder of some kind, a severe infection, or even an unexpected reaction to the suture material as the vet noted in Stella's case. This is an extremely uncommon occurrence, but it does happen rarely - even in cases where everything was done correctly during surgery. It's devastating for everyone involved to lose a pet this way. I'm very sorry for your loss.

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