Getting stitches removed after 9 days?

[cs2021]

Hi all. Around a month ago I had received a one year old dog from my family members as they no longer wanted her. Unfortunately,it was due to her being in heat and they we're grossed out. Skipping to Tuesday. I got her desexed, everything has gone smoothly. Yesterday,I noticed she had a seroma which i rushed her to the same vet who did her surgery. Everything is fine, thankfully. No temperature. 

 

The vet has advised me that her stitches can be taken out next Thursday. However,it will be only 9 days. From what I've read online they take 10-14 days to heal.

 

Should i be worried?

Edited December 17, 2021 by cs2021

[Rebanne]

I usually take out the stitches myself after a spey. If you are confident dog owner you could ask your vet for a stitch cutter and do it yourself. If not I must say I would err on the side of caution and book her in for the Wednesday after. Yes that's 15 days, but she was speyed very soon after being in season. And you wouldn't want things to "fall apart" over the holidays.

[cs2021]

Thanks for the reply. I'll give the vet a ring and reschedule it for another day. I'm not confident in her stitches only being in for 9 days.

[tdierikx]

If the seroma is being caused by a reaction to the external stitches, then taking them out a little earlier than "normal" is probably the right move. That said, the only stitches that are being removed are the external ones... there are possibly up to 2 other layers of stitches internally that are holding the scary stuff in.

 

If the vet feels that the healing process is going well externally, and thinks the stitches can come out early, then it may not be as big a worry as you are thinking.

 

I had a dog who managed to get her external sutures out by herself after only 4 days - and she had had a rather complicated spey where she had almost died on the table - took her to the vet immediately, worried that she'd have to be restitched... but the vet found that her external wound had virtually healed already, and restitching wasn't necessary at all.

 

10-14 days is a guideline for wound healing time under stitches... not necessarily gospel. Each dog will heal differently... some faster, some not so much...

 

T.