# Incision site after a spay



## MissmyCaseygirl (Jul 21, 2009)

Lucy (8 months) was spayed this past Wednesday. First I want to say, what a difference compared to spaying a big dog! Lucy is small, about 11lbs., she's our first small dog. We had a Cattle dog mix and a Golden prior to Lucy. They were about 78lbs and 92lbs in their heyday and it was much easier on them if memory serves.

Anyway....Lucy seems sore. She came home yesterday. They told us to keep her calm (lol, ok...she's an 8-month old, terrier mix). We're doing everything we can to keep her safe.

I noticed tonight that I can see a stitch at the incision site. It's sticking out. Her incision is red and a tad swollen looking but dry (no discharge) and it's not 'angry' looking.

When do I worry?


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## kclaw63 (Sep 10, 2009)

I work with foster dogs, so I have a lot of experience with spays/neuters. First, are the stitches subcutaneous, under the skin? or can you see the stitches? If they are subcutaneous, they will disolve on their own and that one stitch will eventually fall out or your vet can remove it after two weeks from the spay. Are you having your little one wear an e-collar? I know, they are not fun, but they do stop the dog from bothering the site. You can always put a warm compress (a washcloth wet with warm water and then rung out) on the site. It is true the more you can limit her activity the better, because the site gets irritated when she stretches it with activity. The best way to do this is to crate her for most of the time, letting her out every few hours just to walk around a little bit. She should feel a lot better 5 days after the surgery.


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## MissmyCaseygirl (Jul 21, 2009)

Thank you. They told me that I have to come back in 10-14 days to have the stitches removed. 

We're trying to give her as much rest as possible, I think I'm just a worrywart when it comes to this one!

I appreciate the advice!


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## kclaw63 (Sep 10, 2009)

I understand completely. The little dogs just seem to be more helpless. Try not to let her jump up or down, because that is really hard on the stitches. If the site gets worse or doesn't get better, you should take her to the vet to have her checked out. She should be back to her old self soon.


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## Terrie (Sep 11, 2009)

Surgery is tough on puppies, when they did it to my pup, they told me they gave her meds for the pain that would last 24 hrs. They also told me to just keep the incision clean and watch it every day, and to not bathe her for at least 10 days. I took my puppy home the day as the surgery, got her from a humane society.

my 2mo old GSD/lab mix was spayed 2 weeks ago. Her incision seems to have completely healed by now and she was only lethargic the first day because of the meds she was on. I think it's normal, but the only thing I'm worried about is that at the site of the incision, there seems to be a hard bump under the skin.

I've had pets with surgeries before and they had the same thing. I think it is just swelling or something? Does anyone know for sure?


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Terrie said:


> Surgery at the site of the incision, there seems to be a hard bump under the skin.
> 
> I've had pets with surgeries before and they had the same thing. I think it is just swelling or something? Does anyone know for sure?


I'm pretty sure it's the internal sutures. They're dissolvable, but sometimes it takes a while for them to fully dissolve, especially where it's knotted.


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