Desexing Wound Splitting

[bikle]

Hi Guys.

As the topic title says, I'm chasing some stats or experiences from people (particularly those that work in veterinary clinics) in regards to spey wounds rupturing.

I have heard of a case locally in which a bitch ruptured all layers of stitches 6 days after desexing, and by all accounts had been kept still and quiet.

What could cause this problem, and how common is it?

Has anyone on here had their bitch split her stitches after the desexing operation, despite precautionary efforts (such as preventing licking and keeping the bitch confined).

Thanks in advance for your help.

Edited July 28, 2007 by bikle

[cowanbree]

I have had one remove her external stitches 3 days after being spayed, she was fine and had healed sufficiently to leave it. Another very active girl did something internally which caused a huge bulge to form along the incision. I can’t remember what the vet said it was, might have been to do with internal stitches but not sure. I had kept her crated for 3 days and then thought she would be ok so let her loose – she wasn’t. The bulge did go down over time. The rest have gone fine and I have probably done 15-20 spays

[Dogfish]

This is somethng I am worried about as our Airedale is very active. We are thinking of getting her done at around 10 months. Hope she will be ok.

Dogfish

[bikle]

I have had one remove her external stitches 3 days after being spayed, she was fine and had healed sufficiently to leave it. Another very active girl did something internally which caused a huge bulge to form along the incision. I can’t remember what the vet said it was, might have been to do with internal stitches but not sure. I had kept her crated for 3 days and then thought she would be ok so let her loose – she wasn’t. The bulge did go down over time. The rest have gone fine and I have probably done 15-20 spays

thanks for sharing your experiences cowanbree.

[MolassesLass]

I have heard of one case where the suture material broke down way too fast and everything opened. Otherwise any healing mishaps have been a case of too much exercise or lack of hygiene.

[bikle]

I have heard of one case where the suture material broke down way too fast and everything opened. Otherwise any healing mishaps have been a case of too much exercise or lack of hygiene.

Thanks molasseslass

Did the vet say that this was a problem with the suture material, or just reacted differently inside this particularly dog?

[MolassesLass]

I was told the vet said it was the batch of material - too old or just "bad" I think it was. Not my dog, so not sure of the exact details sorry.

[kenDOL]

My foster had a severe reaction to catgut sutures when she was desexed last year - http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...c=81741&hl=

The good news is that my vet no longer uses catgut.

[bikle]

thanks for that link kenDOL

seems that it's a bit more common than I originally thought.

[Poodle wrangler]

Sorry, no stats, but our standard poodle was desexed about a month ago. I was horrified when he decided it was a good idea to just jump straight up in the air for no reason only 2-3 days after the op. Fortunately, no problems with the sutures or wound.

Aren't wounds usually closed in layers?

[bikle]

Sorry, no stats, but our standard poodle was desexed about a month ago. I was horrified when he decided it was a good idea to just jump straight up in the air for no reason only 2-3 days after the op. Fortunately, no problems with the sutures or wound.

Aren't wounds usually closed in layers?

From what I understand, 3 layers. Internal two using disolvables, external requiring removal 1 week after op.

[~Anne~]

From what I understand, 3 layers. Internal two using disolvables, external requiring removal 1 week after op.

Not quite. The uterine stumps will be tied of using suture material. Then there is the internal abdominal wall to suture using the same material as the tie off of the stumps (usually, unless they use clips to tie off) and then the external sutures that you see usually using a nylon suture.

[bikle]

From what I understand, 3 layers. Internal two using disolvables, external requiring removal 1 week after op.

Not quite. The uterine stumps will be tied of using suture material. Then there is the internal abdominal wall to suture using the same material as the tie off of the stumps (usually, unless they use clips to tie off) and then the external sutures that you see usually using a nylon suture.

oh ok. thanks for correcting me. :D

[Rappie]

Actually Puggles and Bickle - you're both right

The ovarian pedicles and uterine stump are ligated with dissolvable suture material. Then the abdominal muscle layer is closed with dissolvable sutures, then the subcutaneous (fat) layer is closed with more dissolvable sutures, then the skin is closed. This may be another "internal" layer of sutures (known as intradermal or subcuticular) or with nylon sutures that need to be removed.

[~Anne~]

I love it when you talk like a vet Rappie! Thanks for clarifying.

[Tassie]

No problems here, with two bitches and several cats over the years. My current two Border Collies (M and F) were desexed on the same day, at 9 and 7 months - I thought it would be easier to keep them quiet - yeah, right. The next day, they squeezed through a hole in the fence, went 100 metres down the side road to the street - to play with some kids they'd heard there. Kids, thankfully were dog savvy, got leads from their house, rescued dogs, their mom rang the numbers on their tags, and I found they were safe before I even knew they were missing - big bush block, I was inside the house at the time. Absolutely no ill-effects at all - bless my vets.

[Rappie]

I love it when you talk like a vet Rappie! Thanks for clarifying.

Anytime!

With respect to the original post, most of the problems with spey wounds that I have seen in practice have been related to some kind of reaction to the suture material itself. The odd over exuberent dog will end up with a seroma, but usually I see an intense inflammatory reaction. Sometimes it will settle down with time, sometimes it just continues until you either go back in and replace the suture material with something else, or worse - the sutures get "expelled" by the body and that is the classic horror story dehiscing wound. It is usualy a response to things like catgut, but it can occur even in reponse to the most benign absorbable monofilament (same as is used in humans) - it's secondary to them being absorbable. It is uncommon, but can happen.