TXXC Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 Hi all, I am new here, just after some advice. My adult bitch had a cyst removed from her head and got the stitches removed yesterday, 11 days post op. Vet nurse said it looked healed, etc...asked the vet if they wanted to check it before he removed the stitches. They apparently didn't. So, I come home from a morning out to find the wound has re opened and they cannot see her until tomorrow. I have dressed it for now as a trip to the emergency vet is out of the question. I don't think I should be responsible for any further fees which are incurred and will not know what is the case until tomorrow, but am just after some advice as to what any of you think about who should be responsible. The vet nurse also said that the dog will be fine to go back together with my 3 other dogs. Luckily I thought a few more days by herself would be a better idea. Anyway, any responses will be appreciated. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 To be honest I don't think the vets are responsible either. Most stitches are ready to come out after 7 - 10 days, even less on the face. If she thought it looked okay, who's to say your dog didn't bump it at home? It's still going to be fragile and must be treated as such. I'm not blaming you, but I can't see the vet wearing the fees as these things do happen unfortunately and whilst they may appear healed it is often very superficial so you must be very gentle with the area for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 If a wound re-opens then it is usually a matter of how your dog heals and is not the fault of the vet. They usually don't re-suture but treat with antibiotics while it heals from the inside. Some dogs have a bad reaction to the internal sutures and it causes the sutures to not disolve as they should. I had one who had part of her spay wound open and close for about 4 weeks until I finally noticed a small white thread inside the wound. A very steady handed vet managed to grip it with forceps and pull it out and the wound finally healed after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florise Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 11 days is more than enough time for primary healing to occur. How big is the wound? There are several reasons it may have reopened, one being infection, in which case it is best to leave the wound open and allow granulation healing to occur. Is the wound pink and healthy looking? any discharge? Did she have any antibiotics after surgery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXXC Posted August 5, 2012 Author Share Posted August 5, 2012 This is about 3-4cm of an approx. 8 cm wound which has opened, bleeding, flesh exposed. etc...She originally had 9 stitches in her head. If the wound was so fragile, why would the vet nurse say that she is fine to go back with my 3 other dogs, who would no doubt jump all over her, having not seen her for the past 2 weeks almost. As I said, I thought better of that, preferring to give her a few more days by herself. She had an Elizabethan collar which came off 3 days ago, they did not advise that she should have it back on for another few days to ensure healing. All that was said is that she is fine and the wound looks good. She was also speyed at the same time, no issues with that wound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXXC Posted August 5, 2012 Author Share Posted August 5, 2012 Sorry Kasey, we were posting at the same time! She had an anti biotic injection at the time of surgery and that was it. She was sent home with three days worth of anti inflammatory tablets. There were no signs of infection yesterday, it all looked really good. The vet nurse said her head wound looked like it was healing better than the spey wound which was still a little scabby yesterday when he removed those stitches too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 Depending on where the wound is.. she quite possibly scratched to relieve irritation from where stitches were ..and, bingo- all that nice tender new skin just split it happens. The AB injection was probably a long acting one ..and it seems to have worked . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florise Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 Can you post a pic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zug Zug Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 Same thing happened to my old girl early this year. I panicked - I could see skull. Next morning straight to her vet - by then she had superficially healed right across overnight. No fees - we just protected it and gave her some extra ABs. She also had the problem with the dissolving stitches. These ones (on her head) lasted less than 2 days before this happened. The others (in her abdomen and some in her cheek after a dog bite - long story) just did not dissolve and had to be removed (from her face) and erupted through her skin (from her abdomen). Poor love with a dog attack and 2 tumours removed she had an awful summer. All healed and healthy now thanks goodness. Talk to your vet tomorrow. Mine has always been very helpful with post-surgery issues. And sometimes the wound heals better without stitches in place to cause irritation. Depends very much on the situation and on your dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXXC Posted August 5, 2012 Author Share Posted August 5, 2012 Thank you all for your replies. Sorry, Kasey, I can't post a photo as it is all coved with a dressing now which I don't want to disrupt as the wound was bleeding when I placed it. I hope she it can be fixed without more surgery. I had her desexed and the cyst removed at the same time to avoid two operations. Now I'm thinking I should have just left the cyst alone. It was only a sebaceous cyst and I am kicking myself that I had it removed for her now. Will see what happens tomorrow. Hope if I have to cover any fees, they are minimal. The $700+ this cost me originally has stretched the budget this month Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattycake Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 All animals and wounds heal different, they most likely will leave it open now and allow it to heal. My OH had a mole removed which opened up two days after stitches removed, it took a while to heal. Hopefully if the vet ends up charging you for any extra treatment they will allow you to pay later. My girl is sporting some stitches at the moment after an accident on Tuesday ( ran head first into the box trailer whilst chasing a ball, hubby kicked it too close to it ). It seems to be going good so far, she hasn't tried to rub/ scratch them yet but once they start to heal they can get itchy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karly101 Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 Head wounds can be like that...most likely it will now have to heal as a open wound. It's not the vets fault every animal is different and done just don't heal as expected....11 days is normally fine for sutures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chequeredblackdog Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 No real advice as such, but My border collie had cruciate surgery (TTO) in December, wound was stapled and left for 12/13 days (over the Christmas period) when she was taken back to have them removed the wound wasn't quite healed at the top but otherwise ok. The staples were removed. By the next morning the whole 15cm wound was completely open and gaping. rushed her back to the vet and they re-stapled (under anaesthetic) the wound, free of charge. I'm not sure if my vet is typical with the free restapling, or it may be on a case by case basis. Hope your girl heals well and doesn't cause you too much more stress! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXXC Posted August 5, 2012 Author Share Posted August 5, 2012 Patty cake, I hope your girl is feeling 100% soon. Thank you all for your replies. I guess all that's to be done is to wait and see. I just hope it doesn't heal like an ugly scar. That's why we got the cyst removed because it was horrid to look at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zug Zug Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 I thought my girl would be very badly scarred, but you can't even see it now. Amazing what a little bit of fur can cover up as well. The only visible bit is the edge of her bottom eyelid - and that bit of scarring is only visible because it is a part of a dog's face where fur doesn't grow. And I am the only one who can see it. Stay positive - it will delay her recovery and it can be so frustrating keeping them confined for so long. But more than like she'll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXXC Posted August 5, 2012 Author Share Posted August 5, 2012 Glad to hear your girl had a happy ending from so many traumas, poor thing. It's sad because they don't understand what's going on. Now I'm more calm, I understand that these things happen, but still not sure why the nurse would have said she can go with the other dogs. I would have to think what could have happened to her head if I did allow them together. I will update tomorrow once we see the vet. Thank you all again :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 but still not sure why the nurse would have said she can go with the other dogs because it looked healed to her ? There probably was nothing she could see that indicated that healing was not complete ., or that it would split . 11 days is a good length of time normally .... Sometimes if we were not sure of a wound ..say in an area where skin was stretched .. or one under a lot of stress..we would take every 2nd stitch out ..,then the rest a couple of days later, maybe ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXXC Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 Well, she is getting the wound restitched under sedation this morning. Vet says stitches will need to be in place for 21 days to ensure proper healing this time. Also she must wear the buster collar again for the whole 3 weeks. They have said the only charge will be for a new collar as she ruined the last one. Hopefully this will be the end of my horrid fortnight of vets, doctors and hospitals. Seems like one drama after the next between her and the kids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 That's excellent of the vets! Good service, best wishes for the minor op today. Keep your chin up, onwards and upwards from now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Good news :) Glad she will now have every chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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