Stitches & Open Wounds

[vein]

Monday my mom took in both of her girls for mammary tumor removal surgery. They both did fine but that evening, one apparently had pulled out all of her stitches, leaving the spot, according to my mom, wide open. It wasn't bleeding, but I told her to take her back in to the vet the next day to have it restitched and get a shot of antibiotics because she wasn't being fooled by the treats laced with smashed up flavoured Baytril. (I told her to get antibiotics even if the vet didn't suggest them, in part because I found out Sunday evening they have apparently been sneezing and having poryphin for some time now)

So yesterday the girl got all stitched up again. The vet said he couldn't use staples because her skin was too thin (?!).

This morning, she apparently had half her stitches out again. This afternoon, my mom reported that they were all out again and it was bleeding a bit. She called the vet, who said to just watch it and if she "wanted to" or if it was looking infected to bring her back in and he could keep her sedated to let it heal more.

Unfortunately she can't go to the vet we use (13 hour drive, a tad bit too far) and the vet I used to use when I lived there apparently only works at the zoo and not his practice due to allergies. The vet *was* listed on the Rats of the Carolinas website, but I'm not positive how much experience he really has with rats and I've never dealt with a rat taking out their stitches before the wound was closed.

Aside from trying to get her to keep up the antiobiotics, is there anything else that can be done to try to prevent infection without putting her under a third time in less than a week?

[TheChicagoCrew]

Hmm..

 With our first tumor removal the vet just stitched her up. Well, soon after waking up she ripped out her stitches and ripped herself open even more and he had to staple her before I got there. Once we were home it didn't take her long at all to remove the rest of the stitches, but the staples stayed in there.

 Her sister went in for a tumor removal yesterday and the vet put stiches in but ALSO stapled her (he learned from that last experience). Here it is 24 hours later and all the stitches have been removed but the staples are still there. I can't imagine having her wound wide open w/o stitches or staples. I would go into shock, myself. I would still suggest he put staples in.. but I have no experience with a rat's skin being "too thin" to hold staples. I'm sorry I don't have any good advice to give you. I will be thinking of that poor baby and hope someone can give you more ideas. For right now I would keep her in a small carrier so that she can't move around all that much, and keep her on paper towels so that nothing can get up into the incision, and you'll be able to see if she starts bleeding.

-Melina

[toni]

I can totally relate. Two of my girls went in for tumor removal surgery and both pulled their stitches out three time- Cressida got infected due to the fact she created a gaping hole in her chest overnight. Its a little scarey isn't it?

Best thing I can suggest is to move your rat to smaller housing/ divide up the cage so she can only go on one level, to restrict her movement and give her plenty of bedding to keep her warm. You might want to try tying a bit of cloth on her tail to distract her from pulling her stitches or if you have an old sock, try cuttining tiny head and feet holes in it and pop her in (thats if you she holds still enough!).

As for infection, try local well stocked pet stores to see if they carry small animal wound powder- its very handy. If not, maybe try carefully washing the area with a saline solution. But keep an eye on the wound if its open, and if it seems a funny colour you might want to very gentle squeeze while someone holds the rat, to see if there is any puss (nice I know)

Good luck

[vein]

Thanks for the advice guys. I cut and pasted it all to my mom. She laughed at the "active" comment. Apparently her girls are more of the sloth family than the rodent family. They have a multiple story cage, but apparently they rarely go to the other stories and prefer instead to hang out where their little igloo is. She did say that if she suddenly became active for the first time in her life, she would move her to the travel cage she has.

I haven't heard from her yet since early this morning, but as of early this morning, the girlie still wasn't letting her adjust her so she could inspect the hole, but she said that the paper towels and tshirt material she had in there didn't have much drainage.

I'm wondering if her "thin skin" (I've still never heard of a rat having that "problem") has anything to do with the fact that they are both overweight. I can't convince my mom to ONLY feed them the Harlan I sent and they'll eat it if they are hungry and to cut the fruit treats out for awhile. They will be 2 in another month and I can't get her to understand that they will have a less chance of dropping dead at 2 if she gets their weight down at least some. So frustraiting, especially since I don't live near there.

Now I just get to worry more about them and next weekend when my parents come up here to visit. Do I have them deal with a 13 hour drive both ways and make sure that they are okay or do I have her leave them at home with no one looking in on them all weekend?

[pigsandrats]

What about that new liquid stuff that closes incisions?