A common, relatively inexpensive drug used in operations on humans, however, appears so effective in preventing bleeding that one university veterinary teaching hospital reportedly has made its administration standard procedure for any and all greyhounds it operates on - ranging from simple neutering of males and females to amputations and major chest surgeries.

Aminocaproic acid is readily available through pharmaceutical channels, but is not commonly stocked at this time by veterinary practices. Veterinarians can obtain it in advance of surgery on greyhounds, so that they can administer it at the time of operations and during the recovery period afterwards.

Two articles that appeared recently in American veterinary journals have underscored the significance of epsilon-aminocaproic acid (EACA) treatment in minimizing and preventing severe bleeding following surgery on retired racing greyhounds.

The studies, conducted at The Ohio State University, also involved researchers now working at Michigan State University, the Royal Veterinary College in The United Kingdom, Hokkaido University in Japan, the University of Florida and several veterinary clinics across the U.S.

One of the copyrighted articles, entitled "Retrospective evaluation of the effectiveness of epsilon aminocaproic acid for the prevention of postamputation bleeding in retired racing Greyhounds with appendicular bone tumors: 46 cases (2003-2008)", appeared in the June 2012 issue of the "Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care", published by the veterinary society of the same name.

The other copyrighted article, "Epsilon Aminocaproic Acid for the Prevention of Delayed Postoperative Bleeding in Retired Racing Greyhounds Undergoing Gonadectomy", appeared in the July 2012 issue of "Veterinary Surgery", published by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Both articles may be purchased online and downloaded from the Wiley Online Library website.

The first study, which analyzed amputations of 46 greyhounds with bone cancer between 2003 and 2008 found that 28% developed delayed postoperative bleeding with different severities, with the onset between 48 and 72 hours following surgery. Most significantly, the dogs that did not receive epsilon-aminocaproic acid were 5.7 times more likely to bleed.

The second, double-blind, randomized study evaluated the outcomes of 100 retired racing greyhounds that were neutered and given either EACA or a placebo. Researchers earlier had found that 26% of retired racing greyhounds that are normally neutered are likely to bleed following neutering, while bleeding only occurs in 2% or less of other breeds. Dogs given EACA in the study were only one-third as likely (10%) to develop bleeding, compared to 30% of the control group. EACA appears to improve the blood clot strength at the surgical site. Post-surgical photos indicate a dramatic reduction in bruising around incisions.

As greyhound adoptions and neutering have increased, preventing postoperative bleeding has grown in importance. According to the second study, "The number of greyhounds that have retired from racing around the world exceeds those actively racing, and there are now over 130,000 retired racing greyhounds in North America." Since most dogs coming off the track are sexually intact and will be neutered before adoption, this represents as many as 15,000 to 20,000 surgeries a year, the study claims, leading to as many as 3,500 to 5,000 dogs needing further treatment for bleeding complications.

His belly from the stomach to his tail was a sickly black and blue. Lymph glands in his paws and his feet were still swollen and his scrotum was still swollen to the size of a small tangerine. Physically, he looked a real mess, but he won us over in the first five minutes because of his outsized, larger-than-life personality. There's never a dog or person that he hasn't liked.

And that personality persevered through yet another setback that would have cut down most other dogs. Not three months after we got him, Gary was diagnosed with bone cancer. The people at Ohio State who shipped an emergency supply of aminocaproic acid to Gary's vet to stop his bleeding crisis are the same people doing groundbreaking research in fighting osteosarcoma in greyhounds. He was given EACA when his right hind leg was amputated to the pelvis and experienced no postoperative bleeding complications for surgery that is much more radical than neutering.

Gary turned 10 in June and has gone through some tremendous trials in the past two years. But for all of that, we wouldn't trade him for the world. Every day with him is a joy.

Gary participates in one of OSU's research projects involving an experimental osteosarcoma therapy. He has survived 20 months and beaten the odds so far, although we're never overconfident and take everything day-by-day. He goes back to OSU for his three-month checkup next week.

The search terms "aminocaproic acid" and "fibrinolysis" are useful to look up in Wikipedia to better understand the drug's action and the clotting process that's involved. It's not the same as hemophilia, the disorder in humans with which most of us are more familiar.

Dogs that received EACA in the neutering study were administered 500mg orally beginning the night of surgery and continuing three times a day for five days. This treatment is not particularly expensive. EACA is the generic name for Amicar, and the price for 100 tablets of 500mg EACA online (by prescription only) ranges from $100 to $200 US. So, $15 to $30 worth of EACA may save owners hundreds of dollars in additional vet bills to treat postoperative bleeding complications. It seems like pretty good insurance for the price if, on average, three out of every ten greyhounds is likely to have a bleeding problem.

Word about new treatments sometimes spreads slowly through the global veterinary community, so prudent greyhound owners will want to raise the bleeding subject with their vet whenever surgery is in the works. In the case of emergencies, there is still time to obtain EACA if the vet acts quickly, before the onset of bleeding some 48 to 72 hours after the dog is operated on.

I'm not familiar with Etamsylate, Parvan, but I'm not a vet. I'll ask the Ohio State folks what they know when I take Gary for his checkup next week. Thanks for your comment.

The episode with Gary is still fresh in Kari's mind. As she wrote, "Glad we caught the bleeding in time. I just remember that poor dog and that swollen sack. OMG!"