Sutures not dissolving?

HollyHeart was spayed over a month ago. Went to a low-cost clinic. They were very nice, they used the sutures that dissolve. Because that's what it said on the sheet I got when I picked her up. The only problem she had in the insicion area was that it swelled a bit, but I was told it was normal and it did go down.

I picked her up today, and was surprised to still feel sutures in her belly. The area's not red, not infected. Doesn't hurt her to touch there. She's still acting like "hyperkitten"- normal active 6 month old I really hadn't noticed b/c the fur's almost grown back to where they shaved her, and she's squirmy and being held is the LAST thing she wants you to do

Is this normal? I'm thinking about calling the vet on Monday (but I won't be able to get her in until sometime later on in the week- school ) And I'm assuming I just call my vet- not the low-cost clinic we went to.

She eats, she drinks, she drives Sneaky Pie insane

Cheryl

It can take a few months for the stitches to fully dissolve from what I have been told

It can take a while for them to dissolve, you will also feel a build up of scar tissue there for a bit which can be confused with the actual stitches

I'm a nurse in the Operating Room, and I've worked in my vet's office (as a volunteer) doing surgery. One of the most commonly used absorbable suture materials used to close the abdominal fascia is called VICRYL, which maintains it's tensile strength (wound holding ability) for approximately 2-3 weeks. It often takes months to completely absorb, so it wouldn't be unreasonable for you to still feel them, or feel some local tissue reaction to them where they were placed.

PDS is used in the clinic I work at, and in a lot of clinics, especially low cost clinics. It can take up to 6 months to completely dissolve. It's nothing to be concerned about, however, it may cause irritation, and cause her to lick her incision, which is not good, so it may be a good idea to bring her back down and get that sticth snipped out.

Okie