Now George is peeing blood.

GP Lover · Post » Thu Nov 11, 2004 8:37 am

Oh, by the way, I once brought Angel there because her stitches came out and her skin opened up. It cost me $211 to have Dr. Powell put her under, flush and restitch her. I hope that doesn't happen to George. Does the skin look like it may pull apart?

swannie · Post » Thu Nov 11, 2004 9:37 am

It looked pretty much the same this morning (i.e. not gaping and open), though you could tell just the surface flaps near the center of the incision were a little more separated than they had been yesterday. I called Dr. Pam and she said that the subcutaneou sutures and surgical clue would probably hold things together, but
Steve has been instructed to keep an eye on it today, and if there's any doubt about what kind of shape it's in, to bring her in. So far, there's no redness, oozing, or swelling. Fingers crossed...

I just thought splitting the Meloxicam dose might give her two periods of relief instead of just one. She is definitely still in pain. I'm going to discontinue the Reglan unless otherwise indicated, but will continue to administer the AB and Meloxicam.

Post » Thu Nov 11, 2004 9:41 am

How wonderful that Steve can lay his "healing hands" on George all day. Good luck with the girl. I hope she leaves her belly along!

Talishan · Post » Thu Nov 11, 2004 12:45 pm

In our experience Metacam can take quite a while (over an hour) to kick in. For our dental pig we have split the dose, and upped the dose, either or both, for a day or two. Our vet instructs us to use caution because the NSAID is of course a GI irritant, but with care we have gone to .15 mg in the AM and .25 at night (again, for short periods of time). The split dose and little bit extra has seemed to really help him when he needs it.

swannie · Post » Thu Nov 11, 2004 8:08 pm

She's chewed a fair bit of paper towel today. If she ingested it, can it be harmful?

Not many poops during the day. Going to give her Reglan, Meloxicam, and ABs now.

Post » Thu Nov 11, 2004 8:10 pm

I don't think it would be a problem. If she is pooping some, that is progress.

Post » Thu Nov 11, 2004 8:18 pm

I would think paper towel would be a good substitute for chewed wooden hutch or chewed cardboard box.

swannie · Post » Thu Nov 11, 2004 8:44 pm

Incision today (one suture left). You can see where it's spread a little at the center. But is it bad enough to warrant a trip back to the vet tomorrow? I just don't know what's normal/acceptable at this point. We can always bring her in to be on the safe side, anyway.

For easy comparison, here's her incision yesterday:

Post » Thu Nov 11, 2004 8:54 pm

Compared to the picture that salana posted of Suzi, that looks really good. But I don't have expertise.

GP Lover · Post » Thu Nov 11, 2004 9:04 pm

I say take her back. The reason being that if the site gets infected it could be a major pain...for her and your pocketbook. It looks like it should be glued or sewed back together.

Do you have any Betadine that you could use to clean it now?

Post » Thu Nov 11, 2004 9:12 pm

It's a hard call. After their spays, my kittens and my pig Shmi had pulled a little open like that, and all I did was keep them clean and dry, and they all healed just fine.

salana · Post » Thu Nov 11, 2004 9:44 pm

Suzi's second spay incision:

All of these healed with removal of the irritating suture scraps and chlorhexidine rinses twice a day.

Cuddles also had a little pulling apart and healed fine: