Dod died. Korean Vet in Korea.

Hello everyone! I'm in Korea and my dog had surgery on Sunday... and subsequently passed away. It was for bladder stones to be removed. However when I brought my dog in, she was not feeling well at all. This was communicated to the vet. She said she would check the dogs bloods and would let us know. We hand the dog over. A few hours later we get a phone call our dog has died..  after the surgery. I asked for CCTV and her bloods etc. As I had communicated she was not well and her whole demeanor was not normal before the surgery. She had eaten for a few days and was really sleepy and not feeling herself. Again this was communicated. Anyway I got the bloods back... to me they don't look good..  and with the knowledge that she was not well... maybe she shouldn't have had the surgery. Other info is, my dog was a 6.5 year old Pekingese dog. Who had been on a special diet, was not overweight and was generally very well up until around 4 days before the surgery. I just want some answers. I lost my best friend. The vet didn't really tell us what exactly happened and I was in shock to ask for more info. 

Hello - I'm so sorry to hear what happened with your dog. It sounds incredibly upsetting for everyone concerned.  The decision to give an animal an anaesthetic depends on many things, one of which is the general health of the patient on the examination which takes place before the operation.  They should assess the heart and lungs, the dogs' pulse quality / capillary refill and heart-rate (circulation), breathing, temperature and vital parameters.  They may have done this when you weren't present. Vets also do blood tests (such as these) to make sure that there are no major red flags prior to the operation.  Because I do not fully understand the context eg what the examination findings were, I am in no position to judge your vet in this case. I don't, for example, understand how well hydrated the patient was, because red blood cells are not always representative of the patient on every blood machine (up until a few years ago, many vets'  blood machines in the UK were designed for people, so a different red blood cell test called PCV was run separately to assess red blood cells / hydration).  High white blood cells (neutrophils) may suggest a concurrent inflammation or infection; this should be interpreted bearing in mind the condition of the patient on examination eg the temperature, circulation etc.   ALP is quite non-specific and that particular elevation prior to an anaesthetic would not necessarily have worried me, had the patient been well.  Thus, it is diffcult for me to assess this case out of context. Furthermore,  I know little about small animal practise in Korea, and what standards of treatment would be considered normal there.  I wonder whether you could bear to let a laboratory do a post mortem examination, as this could help to bring you closure, or whether Korean vets have an independent regulator who could assess the case for you.  Im sorry not to be more helpful.