should I call the vet? Incision photos posted

One half of Chomper's incision totally healed in a couple of days. But the lower half seemed to be gaping a little and you could see a big knot of sutures. It seemed to be okay, though, and I asked the other foster people at our adoption on Saturday and they said it had been too long to stitch it back up (without opening him again) and it would granulate over and heal.

Sunday morning it looked better - but Sunday afternoon it looked worse. It was open further and a little bit bloody. Like, not oozing or anything and not enough to even get on his bedding, but moist. And now the suture is sort of hanging out. The stitches were supposed to dissolve. Of course, it being Sunday I decided to wait and watch it.

It seems a little better now, but the sutures are still there. I am posting a photo below. Can one of you vet tech people tell me if I should bring him to the vet? I have been putting Neosporin on it and making sure it keeps clean.

 

I cant remember how many days out this is (about a week now?)
It does look as though there is a little infection going on, maybe a reaction to the stitch, irritated, is there any chance he has been licking at it? or he has a cone on.....any chance the other pups are licking at it?. Its not uncommon, usually they just take the stitch out and put on a little triple anti-biotic ointment. I would take him to the vet let them take a quick look.
The adoption people are right though about not putting another stitch in there and why, Im not sure why vets are still doing external stitches, most vets Ive worked over the last few years (about 10!) only do internal on a straight forward spay or neuter (no complications).

 

Great detailed photo BTW.

 

Just throwing this info out there...When my dog Darby was attacked and ended up with two very deep puncture wounds in his throat and a tear in his ear I was told not to put ointment in it (because it was a puncture) and to keep it open. I used an enzymatic product called Absolutely Natural Grooming Aid, I just sprayed it into the wounds a couple times a day. The spray would sort of flush it. And the enzymatic action kept it clean. My vet was amazed at the healing when we returned for a check up. I continue to use this spray for all sorts of wounds, in their mouth just to freshen breath and keep it clean, in the folds of Witt's lips, between his toes because he has very webbed feet...it's great for all types of things. My vet asked me for a bottle, thats how impressed he was with the healing time and quality.

 

Where did you get that, Maisey?

It has been a week since the surgery. I don't think the stitches were meant to be external. That one just started sticking out.

Yes, he has been licking at it. But not excessively and the rest of it healed beautifully. I won't traumatize him with a cone unless it's really necessary. It's not warm to the touch (more so than usual, that is) and the skin around it is healthy and pink - no redness.

I'll call the vet and see what they say.

If licking a wound were terribly detrimental to healing, wouldn't it not be so common? I mean, if every wild animal who got a wound and licked it died of infection, the behavior wouldn't still be around.

 

I wouldnt put any ointment that promotes healing on a puncture wound, nor would most vets I know, a puncture wound from another animal is going have deeper infection, it needs to either drain or the vet needs to go in, open everything up and clean it out, thats why they usually either leave the wounds open or with more extensive damage will open it up partially and on closing put a drain in (or a couple of drains in).
As for the suture, I wasnt sure if it was an internal that popped out, I have seen dissolving sutures used externally altough from what the vet said it shouldnt have been used, same as Ive seen a single line metal suture used on a 100# Rott for a spay (it dehissed). thats why I suggested the vet though, air on the side of caution.
It looks like a suture reaction.
As for the licking, when its excessive and more so if there is a little nibbling going on....which if the suture is causing irritation there may well be then bacteria from the mouth could be introduced to the area which could cause an infection. Usually what happens with something like this is the suture is removed, a little triple anti-biotic ointment is applied and then just monitor it for a couple of days, they usually dont require oral anti-biotics at this point, however, one of the problems with taking out an internal suture only a week after surgery may compromise the rest of the internal healing, sometimes they are still connected to other surures or may be the suture at a stress point, sometimes you cant tell if its connected until you pull on it a little, the vet will know what type of suturing she/he did.

As for animals in the wild licking their wounds, all animals lick there wounds, fact is bacteria 'can' be passed into the system this way, it doesnt mean that the animal will always die, if they have a good immune system they will most likely be able to fight off minor infections.... personally I think its only when humans start interferring with their diets and enviroment their immune systems are knocked down, they are introduced to bacterias that they wouldnt normally be exposed to......JMO :?

 

I haven't seen him biting at it - only licking it and not too excessively. I have been putting Neosporin on it a couple times a day hoping to stave off an infection while it heals. I did gently pull on the suture when it first popped all the way out like that, and it is definitely firmly attached. I've got a call in to the vet.

Thanks for all the info! And DeLaUK, I agree with you about the immune system and being able to fight stuff off! Unfortunately, I am kibble-feeding the fosters because the last one that I raw fed had a huge amount of yucky stool and housetraining issues when she went to her new home and got put on Iams cold turkey (despite my recommendation to purchase Natural Balance).

 

The vet said his body is just rejecting the stitches. She wants to snip it off but doesn't want me to do it. So I will bring him in this evening and get it taken care of. At least then she can see it and make sure it is okay other than the stitches.

 

I had dissolving stitches put in my foot after the last surgery and one of them popped out like that. Except it was a white stitch and I almost passed out looking at it lol. Also, my dermatologist recently told me not to use Neosporin on myself but rather bacitracin because it has triple antibiotic. That's all my hospital uses too. That was interesting to me because I have always used Neosporin on everything. Just thought I'd chime in my personal experiences.

 

I thought Neosporin was the same as the triple antibiotic stuff. Well I'll be darned.

So, color me confused. I took him to the vet and she snipped the suture. I asked if it looked okay and she said no. But then she said it's not infected but he has been chewing on it. But THEN she said to give him oral antibiotics and put a warm compress on it twice a day for about five minutes each time and it should heal in a couple of days.

Why should I give him antibiotics if it isn't infected? As a precaution, maybe? And how the heck am I going to get him to lie still for 5 minutes twice a day, LOL. :roll:

Silly puppy. He's such a clown.

 

Triple antibiotic contains neosprin (neomycin), it also contains bacitracin which kills staph infections resistant to penicilins and polymixin which kills other gram neg.bacterias, basically it covers most common bacterias.

I have no idea why you would get oral antibiotics unless it is just a precaution, could be that the condition of the area being the way it is it wouldnt take much before it is infected....JMO
As for the hot compresses, Ive found that a lot of pets, once they get over that 'first' hot compress they actually seem to enjoy it. My Chi mix had to have that done a few times, she was not the nicest (friendliest) of dogs and would take a little snap if she thought you were going to hurt her (or look at her the wrong way) she screamed the first time I did it (and it really wasnt that hot) but after that she would jump up and sit my lap for it.....I was a bit surprized, I thought I would have a battle on my hands for a few days.....that said...she wasnt a puppy...good luck. :y_the_best:

 

I used a warm towel and he was fine with it, but he got bored after a minute and left, LOL. I will try again when he is sleepy. Is a warm, wet towel okay or should I not be getting it wet? I may have one of those microwave heat pack thingies somewhere around here. I do have one that I use on my neck when I get a pinched nerve, but I am not quite crazy enough to put a heating pad on a dog's scrotum that I also use on my neck. :0010:

 

You can make a nice compress with a sock and some rice. Fill the sock about 3/4 full with plain rice and tie the end shut. For a warm compress just heat it in the microwave for a minute or two. For a cold compress, put it in the freezer until it's cold.

 

We carry it at the shop Jimaya. I got hooked on it after a fall where I injured my arm. I ended up with a deep tear in my forearm and it was taking forever to heal..it actually looked more like a bad burn but deep. I started using the spray on it because it didn't sting and I figured it would keep it clean. Without getting too gross..the wound developed the yellowish crud over the top of it and I was afraid it was getting infected. After two days of using it several times a day it looked much better so I kept using it, it healed quickly after that. So now I use it alot on the animals, my kids...my hubby, lol, I think it's great stuff!

I also like High Cascades Emu oil for it's healing properties.

Here is the link to the Absolutely Natural site...
http://www.absolutelynatural.com/index. ... ndedDepts=

 

For wounds weve always used wet towels, from what Ive been told the hot water (not too hot but more than warm, obvioulsy you dont want it to burn) stimulates the immune system which will help reduce risk of infection and promote healing, it seems to draw out any infection at the area and it has a 'relaxing effect'.
Run a facelcloth (or similar) under the hot water, wring it out but not tight and then place it over the wound just with a little pressure but not enough to be uncomfortable for the pet. When it coold to room temperature warm it up again, do it for about 10 minutes 3 times a day. (thats the usual protocol from vets Ive worked with).

 

Thanks guys. I never did manage to try the hot compress again with him last night, but it looked MUCH better at bedtime and improved some more overnight. I think the suture hanging out was irritating it and preventing it from healing. He may have been messing with it, too, because I'm sure it was uncomfortable. I always thought that big knot was preventing the incision from closing up.

I saw some girl dogs that were spayed by the same vet. They had these horrible-looking external stitches. Nala was spayed at the shelter and she had internal stitches that dissolved. I'd hate to have to bring them back in to get stitches removed.

 

I had stitches a few months ago and they itched like mad while healing.

I bet he was messing with it....especially where it was lol. Boys will be boys!