Nursing your dog back to health after either major or minor surgery is a difficult task for any owner. You can concentrate on providing your four-legged friend with the necessary nurturing when you have adequate pet insurance helping to take care of the financial pressures.
After all, even a straightforward procedure like neutering or spaying will still require you to carefully adhere to your veterinarian’s post-operative instructions.
Fortunately, taking care of your dog’s stitches shouldn’t be stressful with a little advance planning and some helpful information.
Make sure the rest of the family is aware of the post-op care schedule before your furry family member returns from the veterinarian’s office.
How to Care for Your Dog’s Incision Site
If you’ve ever had surgery, you probably remember the directions you were given about keeping your incision site dry (at least for a few days after surgery). The same goes for your dog. That means no baths and not applying creams or disinfectants to the area (unless your vet specifically instructed it).
However, maintaining your dog’s incision site’s dry isn’t the only thing you need to do. Additionally, make sure your dog isn’t licking or chewing on the area (this is where the cone of shame comes in handy)! For a week or two, your dog’s activities will also need to be limited; this includes no off-leash running, lengthy walks, jumping, etc. Both of you don’t want the incision site to reopen if there is too much activity.
Other than that, you should check your dog’s stitches every day to make sure they haven’t become infected or started bleeding if they aren’t covered.
Are there different methods of closing a surgical incision?
Yes. Each layer of tissue that is cut through by a surgical incision will be sutured together separately. As a result, a single incision site may contain multiple rows of sutures (stitches). Your dog’s surgical incision may have been closed with surgical glue, sutures, or staples on the skin’s top layer. The length of the incision, the amount of tension present across the incision, or the surgeon’s personal preference determines the suture pattern that is used to close the skin.
Using absorbable suture material, the stitches can either be buried beneath the skin’s surface or applied to the skin’s surface.
The surgical incision may be under a lot of tension if the procedure involved the removal of a large mass, the repair of a sizable wound, or the debridement (cutting away) of infected or dead tissue. An incision line under excessive tension could gape open and take longer to heal. Your veterinarian may have used a specific tension-relieving suture pattern or a type of skin suture known as a stent suture, where some tubing or a button may be added to the skin layer, to minimize the tension on the incision line. A surgical drain may have been inserted inside the incision to drain away any infectious material if the surgical site was contaminated or infected prior to the procedure.
Dog Stitches Healing Stages: Tips to Care For Your Dog Post-op
Your dog will be sent home with an incision that is closed with stitches, sutures, staples, or suture glue regardless of whether it was recently spayed, neutered, or had a laceration repaired. You should have received aftercare instructions from your vet, but you might still have the following inquiries:
Due to time constraints and other patients to attend to, you may not even be given the chance to speak with your veterinarian after your dog has undergone surgery. Let’s go over some of the most crucial post-operative instructions for dog surgeries, spays, and neuters.
FAQ
How do I know if my dogs stitches are healed?
Most incisions are sufficiently healed after the first week to allow the removal of the skin staples or sutures. The redness should be gone, the incision shouldn’t be painful or discharge-y, and the edges of the incision are usually sealed together.
How can I help my dogs stitches heal faster?
Following your veterinarian’s instructions for keeping the surgical site tidy and dry will help you manage the wound. Never apply creams, antibacterial sprays, bandages, or anything else to the suture site. For the area to heal properly, there must be sufficient blood flow and oxygen contact.
What happens if my dog licks his stitches?
There is a risk of the stitches coming out or the wound becoming infected if your dog licks or chews excessively.
Can dog lick stitches after 10 days?
The most important things 1. If your pet starts to lick their incision, they must wear an E-Collar (plastic cone) for 7–10 days after surgery. Licking of the incision area is strictly prohibited. A pet can easily pull out stitches, which can cause much more harm.