To Suture or Not to Suture... That is the ?

I just called the clinic where I took Josh on Monday and they said they gave me an estimate of about $50 to do the suturing. They can do it at 1pm today.

I know it needs suturing. I wasn't happy with they way she handled him on Monday but he'll be sedated so she won't have a combative cat to deal with.

It's drained.. it's just open, and I'm so afraid of it getting infected. Especially with him scratching at it and JJ trying to play with him. I can have her trim his hind paws at the same time.

I think I've already answered my question... but just wanted to see what you all thought.

Thanks,

Helly

If the wound is open and draining well, there is no need to suture it closed. You just need to keep it clean with mild soap and water (be sure to rinse it well.) The problem with suturing a dirty wound closed, is that it can re-abcess. Your vet will probably give him antibiotics to prevent another abcess, and advise you to just keep it cleaned.

In the O.R., we never close a dirty wound. We just clean it well with antibacterial scrub, irrigate it well with plenty of warm saline, debride the edges if there is gross contamination present, and place a sterile dressing on it. Sometimes more irrigation and debridment is needed in the case of a large or grossly contaminated/infected wound, but usually the first I & D does the trick and the wound heals well.

Good luck!

Well, my problem is, is that at the animal hospital yesterday they recommeded suturing it.

Now I'm really confused.

So if I don't have it stitched... it's ok to keep the polysporin over the area with a gauze? He's tolerating the sock well.

How big is the wound? If it's quite large, they might recommend putting a stitch in it to approximate the edges. I wouldn't recommend closing it completely because bacteria could still be in the wound and cause it to re-abcess. It probably wouldn't hurt to have your vet inspect the wound to see if there's any debris in the wound, irrigate it out and decide if they want to close it (if it's clean.) Certainly, if they decide to close it, please ask for antibiotics! I'm definitely not trying to contradict the advice your vet is giving you. They are, after all, the veterinary medical professional. I'm a firm believer in consulting with my vet over all health issues with my cats. You can always ask if it would be appropriate to treat the wound with the ointment and gauze, especially since he's tolerating it well. Good luck!

They flushed it yesterday and clean it all out. I'm cleaning it 2-3 times a day with peroxide. I'll keep trying the warm compress, but that's just about the only thing he's not being cooperative with.

The size of the area is probably about 1/8" wide.

I've already cancelled the appt. now.

It's just so hard to know what to do... and to decide what to do. I've already spent $160 on him this week and I was hurtin' for money in the first place.

I've even looked into pet insurance, but all the ones I've found require payment up front and then you submit for reimbursement. What's the point of that? If you don't have it... you don't have it. I'm week to week, man.

My husband's useless in helping me take care of Josh. Josh helps me more than he does!
I have a nice neighbor that I can call over if I need to help. The area looks good to me.

What should I watch for...?

I would suture the wound if I was in your situation. I don't think $50.00 is too steep and it would probably help prevent future infections.

You should watch for redness, swelling, exess warmth in the area, purulent or foul smelling drainage. Clear or pale yellow drainage is normal, or even a small amount of pinkish (bloody) drainage is normal. If Josh starts to become febrile, you would definitely need to take him to the vet. Normal feline temperature is between 100.5 to 102.5 degrees F.

I would probably use dilute peroxide (50/50 with water or saline) to irrigate the wound. It sounds like you're doing all of the right things. I don't think that a wound that is only 1/8 of an inch wide would need to be sutured. I think closing a wound that small would risk re-abcess, especially if Josh isn't on antibiotics. I wouldn't really worry about doing warm compresses (especially since he doesn't want to cooperate!) As long as the wound stays open and drains, and you keep it clean, the compresses aren't necessary. Relax, stay on top of it by keeping it clean, and watching how Josh behaves. I think things will work out fine.

Originally Posted by helly

I've already cancelled the appt. now.

It's just so hard to know what to do... and to decide what to do. I've already spent $160 on him this week and I was hurtin' for money in the first place.

I've even looked into pet insurance, but all the ones I've found require payment up front and then you submit for reimbursement. What's the point of that? If you don't have it... you don't have it. I'm week to week, man.

Click to expand...

Care Credit is something else to consider. It works like a credit card, and there's one specifically for vet bills. They make an immediate payment to the vet, and then you pay it back to them. The reason it's great is because you get a "promotional" time period to pay back the money interest free.

When Leo had surgery in August, I applied online, and got immediate approval. I printed the approval letter and took it to the vet. I have 12 months to pay it back without interest. If you can't pay it back in time though, you get slammed with ridiculous interest fees; but if you know you can pay it back within the time period, it's definitely worth it! It makes giving our kitties the medical care they really need much more financially managable.