Stitches

Hi all - I'm a little confused about something and wondered if someone here could give their opinion.

My cat had bladder surgery 3 1/2 weeks ago. She is recovered and seems to be just fine. My question is about the stitches.

The vet used stitches that are under the skin to close up Misty's abdomen. And that's great. He said she would not have to come back unless the incision got infected or some other problem arises. She didn't have to go back to remove the stitches, as he said they will dissolve on their own. However, there is one little stitch at the end of the incision (on the outside)that is like a little knot. Doesn't this have to be removed or will this one eventually dissolve too? How long does this take?

Thank you all.

Karen

It depends on what kind of sutures they used. Generally if they use standard sutures to close up the outer layer, they are to be removed about 10 days after surgery. I do not remember the exact time on disolvable suteres, but I have seen them stay in for months. I would call the office where your kitty had the surgery and ask them their oppinion.

Usually from my own experience in getting them, the part of the stich thats inside the flesh will disolve and the knot will eventually fall out with regular activity or grooming and the little hole will heal up just fine. If its loose enough the kitty will likely just lick or tug it out eventually.

Thank you both for your replies. I asked the vet twice if I need to bring her back and he keeps saying "no". He said her stitches will dissolve on their own. But the people at this vet's office are so vague in their answers sometimes that I never know if they even know what they're talking about. Especially one of the girls there. She offers no explanation or instructions for anything. And when I ask a question, again - the answers are vague and I end up just as confused as before I asked. Very annoying. The flip side to that though is exellent and highly skilled vets and it's only 3 minutes from my house. I deal with the communication problems because of that. Where else can I get highly skilled vets, who are 3 minutes away and who have 24 hour oncall service?

I was hoping the knot will just fall out at some point. It doesn't seem to bother my Misty and everything looks healed. She does clean it gently when she grooms but doesn't seem to be too interested in it one way or another. So I'll wait...it's only been 3 1/2 weeks so it may just need some more time.

Thanks again!
Karen

I would not worry to much about the bad communication. I actually watched this happen recently on a trip to the vet. Person calls, talks to recptionist, recptionist tries to tell person how to handle the situation, person does not fully understand, recptionist asks the vet some questions, goes back to the phone tells the person something slightly diffrent then the vet said but close enough. It did not sound like she knew what she was talking about really, but the person who called got most of the information it just took a couple extra minutes.

From our own experience, it helps if you can ask the vet to call you back later when its convient for them and leave a message on your machine if they need to and supply as direct and concise question as possible so the recptionist wont screw that up when they take the note for the call back. At least then you get a call from the vet themselves and can ask any follow up questions. It also helps some people if you write down questions before making the phone call so your sure to get all your answers.

Good luck!

Actually - I have a question here as well. Scratchy has one stitch from being spayed and the vet said I could take it out myself. How does one do this?