Postoperatorio De La Locura Del Sitio De Incisión En Mascotas (y Cinco Formas En Que Lo Manejo)

2024 Autor: Daisy Haig | [email protected]. Última modificación: 2023-12-17 03:07

Tengo un pariente cuyos dos perros adultos fueron castrados la semana pasada. Así que sabía que podía esperar las llamadas telefónicas a través del país, en abundancia. Pero nada me preparó para la avalancha de problemas en el lugar de la incisión que me esperaban a raíz de este sencillo procedimiento.

Claro, son nellies nerviosos. Pero en realidad no son diferentes a usted y a mí cuando se trata de vigilar los signos más mínimos de un sitio de sutura infeliz. El enrojecimiento, la hinchazón y el llanto no es una señal agradable y espero que cualquier dueño de una mascota esté atento a estos síntomas después de la operación.

Es por eso que he estado filmando fotos desde lejos, revisando el sitio de forma remota debido a la distancia de 1,5 horas de su propio [maravilloso] veterinario (sabes que ella es amada si están dispuestos a viajar tan lejos para su cuidado).

Antes:

Después:

Después:

her take? haul ‘em in for a close-up look-see. it’s best, after all. mine? here’s my basic recommendation for any angry-looking incision site:

1. avoidance, part 1

make sure the e-collar fits well. can she get around it? is he licking it when you’re not watching? is it just long enough to bang into the surgery site and undo all our good work?

2. avoidance, part 2

try a light, loose cotton t-shirt, some boxer shorts or a clean sock, depending on the area affected. a light dressing, changed often, will sometimes be indicated if the area allows.

3. pack it

alternate applications of warm and cool packs on the affected area (with a clean kitchen towel soaked in comfortably hot or cold epsom salts works for me). though you should know that many veterinarians despise the idea of any wetness on their suture lines.

4. meds?

sadly, antibiotics are sometimes necessary. we often culture the affected area to make sure we’re killing the right bugs with our choice of drugs.

5. movement restriction

crate ‘em, please! no exercise for a week or two (unless your surgeon recommends more careful, lengthy restrictions, as for orthopedic procedures). and for some areas, especially after mass resections in highly mobile spots (underarm or inner thigh, for example) we recommend keeping your pet in hospital for a few days so we can watch pets carefully and limit their movements.

after dealing with all this neuter-site stress, another family member underwent eyelid surgery. more careful attention to sutures, swelling and local antibiotic application.

and then, the kicker: a second-opinion case (i hate these). a local surgeon had refused to see him due to the lack of a direct referral from the original veterinarian (this is typical). so he was all mine. (gee, thanks, dr. surgeon.)

after one month and three surgeries (a mass removal on his right flank) the dog’s sutures had continued to open up…completely, every time. the long incision (about 8 inches!), was a scary sight. thankfully, the large dog’s capable healing mechanisms had led to a nice, dark pink bed of granulation tissue.

“let it heal all by itself,” i’d said, after cleaning the area, culturing it and changing his [too-small, non skin-specific dose] of antibiotics. hot packs for three days, some crating for a week, and the site should be three times as pretty by next week’s re-check. if i’m lucky.

pets are tough on suture lines, it’s true. they’d love nothing better than to lick the wound into submission, lie in the dirt, roll in carcasses and run around like silly creatures after surgery. meanwhile, you and i would be feeling sorry for ourselves in bed. pets are just special that way. too bad they can’t be a little more like us on these occasions.