Guest DeniseL Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Sorry for the late reply, we ran out right after the vet. Her vet cleaned up the wound and trimmed up the hair and extra skin. It was too long to be able to stich/suture, but he said it will heal just fine like this. He even gave her a cold laser treatment to speed healing. She is going back Monday for another. Antibiotics and anti-inflammatories and a few more scars to add to those she already has. Could be worse, I guess. She is a little sore, but otherwise seems just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I never heard of not being able to suture a laceration of that type. I'm sure it will heal-just don't undesirable why your vet didn't stitch that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DeniseL Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) I never heard of not being able to suture a laceration of that type. I'm sure it will heal-just don't undesirable why your vet didn't stitch that.To be honest, I'm not sure either. He had a big, long, very detailed explanation, as he always does, but I have a hard time retaining everything he says. He told me it was clean and would heall fine....I trust him and he is a good doctor so I don't question too much.... I think he said he could suture but it wasn't a fresh wound or something so he thought it best not to... Edited January 19, 2014 by DeniseL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Just for the record --wounds don't need to be "fresh" to be stitched. They need to freshen edges prior to suturing. I'm sure it will heal-just didn't understand his thinking :-). Give your houndie a hug-I'm sure it's been a long day for you both! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvAPuppy Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I never heard of not being able to suture a laceration of that type. I'm sure it will heal-just don't undesirable why your vet didn't stitch that. To be honest, I'm not sure either. He had a big, long, very detailed explanation, as he always does, but I have a hard time retaining everything he says. He told me it was clean and would heall fine....I trust him and he is a good doctor so I don't question too much.... I think he said he could suture but it wasn't a fresh wound or something so he thought it best not to... In human medicine, and that doesn't mean it applies to vet medicine, wounds need to be sutured within 6 hours or it's more difficult to heal Quote Angie, Pewter, and Storm-puppy Forever missing Misty-Mousie (9/9/99 - 10/5/15)Fort Wayne, Indiana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 In human medicine, and that doesn't mean it applies to vet medicine, wounds need to be sutured within 6 hours or it's more difficult to heal Absoulely not true. As a LVT I see old lacerations all the time--the wounds need to be freshened up but, they absoulely can be repaired at anytime. Of course you would like to suture a fresh wound-clean viable edges, less infection, less granulation tissue but, that does not prevent repair-just makes for a more involved surgery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kronckew Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 with those little triangular tears, the flap of skin dries out and dies in a few hours, if it's blood supply is compromised, so effectively trimming back to 'viable margins' removes most or all of the 'flap' leaving the open wound with essentially nothing left to stitch. they heal from the edges inwards without a stitch forcing the edges closed. bigger or deeper wounds would of course be handled differently according to their merits. in the human animal, fairly severe combat wounds are debrided to remove dead tissue and left open to heal from the inside out, as they found over a hundred years ago that suturing a deep severe wound can promote abcesses and gangrene. when they are sewn up, drains are provided to allow er... drainage of fluids as they heal. you don't sew up dead potentially infected tissue or skin. Quote Regards, Wayne KronckeCAVE CANEM RADIX LECTI ET SEMPER PARATUSVegetarians: My food poops on your food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DeniseL Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 All I know is last time they stapled and this time they didn't. He had his reasons and I trust him. He is an excellent dr. with those little triangular tears, the flap of skin dries out and dies in a few hours, if it's blood supply is compromised, so effectively trimming back to 'viable margins' removes most or all of the 'flap' leaving the open wound with essentially nothing left to stitch. they heal from the edges inwards without a stitch forcing the edges closed. bigger or deeper wounds would of course be handled differently according to their merits. in the human animal, fairly severe combat wounds are debrided to remove dead tissue and left open to heal from the inside out, as they found over a hundred years ago that suturing a deep severe wound can promote abcesses and gangrene. when they are sewn up, drains are provided to allow er... drainage of fluids as they heal. you don't sew up dead potentially infected tissue or skin. This does sound somewhat like his explanation though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Yikes-this is turning into a Facebook thread :-). Agree with Kronckew--I wanted to just make a point to others if they ever find themselves in the same situation. I'm not sure how that 6 hour rule ever found credit. Older wounds can and are repaired-it's just more involved-undermining tissue, obtaining edges., debriding tissue -as I mentioned before a more involved repair ..... I'm sure your vet had a valid approach to his treatment plan and I'm sure the wounds will heal just fine. Keep us posted :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sirsmom Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 A little betadine in water twice a day and let it heal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvAPuppy Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Absoulely not true. As a LVT I see old lacerations all the time--the wounds need to be freshened up but, they absoulely can be repaired at anytime. Of course you would like to suture a fresh wound-clean viable edges, less infection, less granulation tissue but, that does not prevent repair-just makes for a more involved surgery. (OT) Thanks, that's good to know. I know when I was actively nursing if it was over 6hrs old we'd steri-strip them up, tell the patient it was going to likely leave some scaring and send them on their way. Quote Angie, Pewter, and Storm-puppy Forever missing Misty-Mousie (9/9/99 - 10/5/15)Fort Wayne, Indiana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJNg Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I rarely suture these unless they're large. But with these triangular shaped tears, they can still be sutured a day or two later. Waiting will even make it easier to see how much of the flap is not viable and will need to be debrided. If part of the flap is going to 'die' due to compromised blood supply, it may do so even if sutured immediately, and part or all of the repair may come apart. Quote Jennifer & Willow (Wilma Waggle), Wiki (Wiki Hard Ten), Carter (Let's Get It On), Ollie (whippet), Gracie (whippet x), & Terra (whippet) + Just Saying + Just Alice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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