Any Way To Prevent This?

[Guest Adrianne]

A week and a half ago, Wilbur had a spot open up along his stitch line & start draining. I had known it would probably happen because he had developed a golf ball sized bubble around the area. After a week of trying everything to stop it, we finally took him back to the vet. Dr. Sigman said it needed to drain because when his bone broke, one end cut into the muscle in his leg, creating a "pocket". As the muscle is healing, it's filling with fluid and has to drain somewhere to prevent the entire leg from swelling. Ok, well & good; it's messy, but we're dealing with it.

 

I just noticed that further up his incision line, another bubble is forming. It must have just started today. It looks exactly the same as the first area did in the very beginning before it swelled up. I sure would like to keep the draining to just the one spot on his leg, if possible. Any thoughts on how to prevent this place from opening up?

 

This first image is an overall view of the two spots: The area circled in white is the original swelling. The black area shows the spot that actually opened up. It drains constantly. The blue circle shows the new area that seems to be getting squishy and starting to fill with fluid.

 

This next image is just to give you perspective on the size of the areas in question: you can see the drainage at the original spot.

[TheFullHouse]

Is there any reason the vet did not put in a drain? I would have thought a drain in place would prevent fluid from accumulating under the skin. It looks like the first place where it was draining from may be healing up leaving the fluid no place to go.

[Guest Adrianne]

To be honest with you, I don't know. And I have to plead ignorance because I'm not even familiar with drains being placed in wounds. This is the first time we've ever been faced with such a health issue with one of our pets. I'm learning as I go, which may not be the best thing for Wilbur.

[greyhoundgang]

Those are just little drain spots. no worries. better it be draining than not.

I'd use warm compresses on and off throughout the day to get it to drain better.

 

(wet wash cloth run under hot water, and then all water drained)

 

I'd also consult with a holistic vet. they have lots of good info/tools for repair of injuries. I like arnica for bruising and swelling.

[Guest Adrianne]

Is there anything I can do to keep the draining to the orginal spot? The second place hasn't opened yet. For such a small place, the amount of fluid that drains out of it is astounding.

 

If the best thing is to have both places drain, I can certainly deal with that too.

[greyhoundgang]

With the warm compresses, you can press lightly and get it to drain. Even the spot that hasn't opened up. I can't see how close the spots are. But all draining is good, and you want it. I went to thrift shop and picked up a bunch of old towels and sheets, and redecorated all spots until draining was over. Only took a few days, but i was using holistic meds to help with healing too.

[Guest eaglflyt]

When a site needs to drain, it is best to let it happen ... either with a drain (preferred) or a natural drain site. It may require more than one drain site as more than one pocket may have been created. If a drain was placed in the wound, you should be able to see it. Also, is Wilbur on antibiotics currently?

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

Ahhhh... That looks just like the drainage site I developed on my hysterectomy incision line when an abscess formed between the skin and muscle fascia. It happened after the incision had apparently healed; but then the one little spot opened up again. It drained for a pretty extended period of time; over a month IIRC before it finally closed up the rest of the way. I did warm compresses 2x a day, and kept a gauze bandage over the site with frequent daily changes. It did feel like it would never heal, and was infinately frustrating but it finally did heal.

 

Watch for signs of infection, and maybe another round of antibiotics if the vet thinks it is advisable, and lots of patience! Sending prayers for speedy healing.

[Guest Adrianne]

Thank you to everyone for advice. Wilbur was on Clavamox for a full three weeks. He took his last one two or three days after the first place started draining. He's not currently on that now, but we have Hetacin K which is infused into the wound. (We're also using that in the area around his rod, and that looks great.)

 

This is what we're looking at today.

 

The first area looked very dry this morning. The second area was swelled and pretty squishy this morning. Before I could start warm compresses, it opened up right along his incision line. It looks ugly, but it's draining clear & odor free and the squishy swelling is now gone.

 

I'll keep up with the warm compresses and loose bandaging. The bandages are mostly to keep Wilbur from licking it.

 

In other news, Wilbur bit me today while I was doctoring him. I moved his leg wrong, and he got me on the arm before I knew what was happening. First time in eight years.