We visited the vet for a check-up today, four days after the surgery, and the wound looked swollen around the stitches, which the vet said was 'serum' around the wound. It might have been the result of Penny's activity since the operation. We'll take it even more quietly for a few days until the wound is not swollen-looking. On the other hand, Penny has mostly been resting and we only go out to toilet a few times a day, on lead.
The ghastly-looking redness around the wound was most likely a rash from the clippers used to remove her coat around the site for surgery. Here's the photo from a few days ago:
and today it is much less sore-looking:
In this photo you can see that there is no stitch at one end of the cut. The vet said he left this open in case the wound needed to drain.
Whilst reading up for this post, I've come across a really good article at The Kerry Blue Terrier Foundation, dealing with the question of whether or not to have surgery for a lipoma.
The article discusses the pros and cons, gives lots of case studies, and talks about other possibilities than surgery, including:
watch and wait
no treatment
liposuction
injection of collagenaze
weight loss, diet and exercise
acupressure
herbal medicines
homeopathy (not much success reported)
aromatherapy
One thing I was glad to read was that modern anaesthesia means that it should be safe for even an older dog to undergo surgery for a lipoma. I must admit this was highest in my list of worries when we opted for surgery.
2 comments:
Your wound is look much, much better, Penny!
Have a wonderful Sunday!
Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly
Mitch and Molly, there is still a lot of swelling around the wound, which surprises me. We'll go back to the vet in a couple of days if it doesn't go down.
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