BS? Reaction to sutures

[AshAndMaple]

Hi, so Bluebell was spayed yesterday. Her wound was weeping blood when she was discharged - which I thought was very strange because that never happened each of the three times Maple was stitched up (don't ask ), but I was told it was okay and it would just weep a bit for a while because there was a small swollen pocket of blood/fluid under the skin. I took her back today because she wasn't eating or drinking, and the swelling was much worse. They suspected a hernia so she was taken back in for surgery. Surgery went fine, and apparently there was a hole in the muscle layer which needed fixing.

I was told by the nurses that she must have had a reaction to the suture material which is why the stitching had come undone. Now, I know that in very rare cases, rabbits can react to suture material, but the fact this happened so quickly when I've read it can take weeks before you see the results of these reactions, and the fact that the wound was weeping when they sent her home, just makes me a bit suspicious.

Does anyone have experience with suture reactions? And am I right to feel suspicious? This is a different clinic to the one I normally use, and the vet is RWAF certified silver, but I've never used them with my bunnies before and honestly I'm not sure I'll go back

 

[Watermelons]

A bit of bloody or clear discharge can be normal.
Even more common if they are active after surgery.

Reactions can be instant. Its something the body doesnt like coming into contact with tissue. It can absolutely cause the suture to rip out internally and again even more likely if she was active after.
There are so many different types of suture material as well.
I had a dog who reacted to most suture material. She would ALWAYS end up with a localized infection at the suture site unless we used catgut.

 

[AshAndMaple]

A bit of bloody or clear discharge can be normal.
Even more common if they are active after surgery.

Reactions can be instant. Its something the body doesnt like coming into contact with tissue. It can absolutely cause the suture to rip out internally and again even more likely if she was active after.
There are so many different types of suture material as well.
I had a dog who reacted to most suture material. She would ALWAYS end up with a localized infection at the suture site unless we used catgut.

Okay, thank you! I think it was the way the info was delivered that made it sound odd, and I was concerned that she was already quite swollen when they discharged her. Thank you for sharing your experience with suture reactions - it's something I've never come across before so it threw me a bit!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Only problem we had was with Beth removing her stitches--had to get her stapled and she removed 3 of them before the vet got the others. Could not keep a cone on her, which is why she did self removal and was the most expensive rescue we ever had, more than any 3 other females.

 

[AshAndMaple]

Only problem we had was with Beth removing her stitches--had to get her stapled and she removed 3 of them before the vet got the others. Could not keep a cone on her, which is why she did self removal and was the most expensive rescue we ever had, more than any 3 other females.

My Maple () removed her stitches twice (hence getting stitched up 3 times in total!) - the second time I watched her do it and she was coming across them while grooming herself I ended up getting a medical shirt for her to wear - she despised it, but it did the trick!