Harper's incision is wide open, vet's closed

[MyBoyHarper]

I took Harper to get his staples out this morning and we got home about 30 minutes ago. His collar was on the entire hour drive home. I get home, take a look at his incision, and it's wide open! It didn't *appear* that way when I glanced at it at the vet's office, but it's sure that way now. I called the vet's emergency number, but I'm not sure if he'll call back today. All the vet's are closed as of noon, and I can't afford an emergency vet just for stitches. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Haley]

Do you think he was pulling at it or maybe thats supposed to be how it looks since the staples are out??

I dont really have any advice..but I hope he's okay! Does he seem to be in pain?

 

[MyBoyHarper]

No, he coudn't have pulled on it with the collar on. And it definitely shouldn't be like that, this is what happened last time when he actually pulled the stitches out. You can see inside of him. <shudders>

The dang vet never did call back...

 

[Haley]

I didnt realize you said his collar was on the whole time, so this is how the vet left it??

I just cant imagine they would take his staples out if it wasnt ready. Is there anywhere else you could call? I know some vets are open on Saturday that arent emergency.

 

[sheridan]

A wound when the sticthes or staples have been removed should NOT look like it is wide open. the skin should have healed enought to hold together.

Did the vet get back to you? With an open wound like that its just inviting an infection

 

[MyBoyHarper]

Nope, never called back, and all the vets in the city, and in all the surrounding towns, have closed at noon. Some weren't open today to begin with. He was on Baytril but is off of it now. I guess he will end up staying like that until Monday when the vet is back. He doesn't appear to be in pain, believe it or not, so that's good. I'm going to just try to keep his litter box and cage as clean free as possible to try to cut down the risk of infection.

 

[sheridan]

that would be good. Are you able to bandage him up at all? If he is anything like my 2 it wont last? Is there any chance?

 

[Haley]

yeah, what about getting some type of guaze/bandage and wrapping it around his abdomen? Would that hold it together?

 

[MyBoyHarper]

UPDATE:

The vet just called me back (and apologized profusely for taking so long, he was in surgery) and told me what to do. He said to clean the incision wellwith antibacterial soapand purchasesome liquid bandaidand explained how to apply it. He then said to get some small butterfly bandaids and reinforce the incision with them once the liquid bandaid dries. He said it should be fine like that and to bring him in Monday morning and he'll reinforce the incision with some more stiches. He also put him back on Baytril.

He said that Harper will most likely be in stitches for 2-3 weeks this time, and in his e-collar for about a month.

Harper will not be happy... :shock:

 

[Haley]

Geeze! Good Luck getting him put back together. Ive used the liquid bandaid before when Basil had a cut and it worked great.

Let us know how he does!

 

[MyBoyHarper]

I know! My poor little man has gone through so much, he's probably traumatized for life.

 

[cheryl]

omg,that is just awful!,and if it's not one thing it's another,poor Harper!

get better quick Harper :kiss:



cheryl

 

[Michaela]

Gosh, that sounds awful! Poor fellow! Hopefully he'll be ok now, sending healing vibes your way!ray:

Michaela and the girls:brownbunny:brownbunny:brownbunny

 

[naturestee]

Eek! Poor boy!

In addition to what your vet told you, scrub the cage out with vinegar,clean the litterbox and use only paper, and keep all hay off the floor. You'll need to clean really, really frequently because an open incision like that is really prone to infection.Frankly I'm surprised your vet said it could wait till Monday.

 

[JimD]

OH NO!!!!!:shock:

How's everything going???
Updates Please!!!!!



Oh my, Oh my!!!!!...I would be beside my self.......and we'd both be hysterical!!!!!!

My first thought would be to use some super glue to tack the incision back together. Not the most antiseptic, but it'll do in an emergency.

Prayers and good thoughts sent!

jim

 

[MyBoyHarper]

Hey Jim, he seems to be doing okay. The vet advised me to use liquid bandaid, which I did. It seems to be holding it together for the most part. The incision was a little damp from where I had been cleaning it, so I may have to reapply it tonight. I had to quickly finish off earlier, after 10 minutes of trying to get it done, I got extremely queasy from looking inside the incision.*Shudders*

Harper, however, seems to not mind one bit. He's in his cage and has been happily munching on hay and pellets for nearly an hour. Within the last two minutes he gulped down a ton of water and now he's layed out relaxing. So, so far so good. I just know he won't be happy with thee-collar being on at leastanother month, my poor man. Plus,because he can't eat his cecals (and they are runny as can be at the moment), he has to have Nutri-Cal everyday to make sure he is getting all his vitamins. He likes the taste though, so no biggie.

 

[naturestee]

Just make sure everything is extra super insanely clean. My emergency vet would not let Fey go home with professional dressings on a lesser wound (as we were hoping our regular vet might be available the next morning to do the stitches)because the risk of infection is so high, he wanted her somewhere that he knew was sterile.

 

[JimD]

MyBoyHarper wrote:

Hey Jim, he seems to be doing okay. The vet advised me to use liquid bandaid, which I did. It seems to be holding it together for the most part. The incision was a little damp from where I had been cleaning it, so I may have to reapply it tonight. I had to quickly finish off earlier, after 10 minutes of trying to get it done, I got extremely queasy from looking inside the incision. *Shudders*

Harper, however, seems to not mind one bit. He's in his cage and has been happily munching on hay and pellets for nearly an hour. Within the last two minutes he gulped down a ton of water and now he's layed out relaxing. So, so far so good. I just know he won't be happy with thee-collar being on at leastanother month, my poor man. Plus,because he can't eat his cecals (and they are runny as can be at the moment), he has to have Nutri-Cal everyday to make sure he is getting all his vitamins. He likes the taste though, so no biggie.

You're due LOTS of credit!!!
I remeber checking Binkie's dewlap after she pulled the stiches out. I was using a flashlightand I could see right inside...YIKES:shock:
Luckily I go into an automatic response mode and function without being too affected by the severity of a situation.

When it's all over......... :faint:



Did you use liquid band-aid or liquid stitches? I didn't think the band-aid would be strong enough. However, I don't know if liquid stitches are readily available.

jim

 

[MyBoyHarper]

I used the liquid bandaid and it seems to be holding it together for the most part. Harper will have to be put back to sleep tomorrow he said, so he can disinfect inside the incision and then stitch it back up... again. *Sigh*

I'm taking him at 8am when the vet opens, then I'm going to go to my10:30 class because Ihave my big research report due, and then after classat noon I'm going to come back and get him.I'm going to skip all the rest of my classes tomorrow so I can take him back home and be with him.

 

[MyBoyHarper]

Naturstee, forgot to reply to you! :shock:

I cleaned and disinfected Harper's cage really good yesterday before he was put back in it, and I've been trying to keep it as clean as possible since. I cannot WAIT until tomorrow so we can get this thing stitched back up and I can quit having my nervous breakdown.