EMERGENCY!! (post neuter issue)

[AquaticRex]

i had my bun fixed on the 15th, and i've been checking the surgery area every day since to make sure it's healing. and now i just checked again and it looks like he's chewed himself open pretty badly, but i've never seen him licking or chewing.

he is always with me, and other then grooming his legs he hasn't gone near the area in a long while. he is eating and does not seem to be in pain and he's even managed to get out of his cage ok (though i now put a top on his cage). i'm wondering if it will heal on it's own or whats going on. i can get a picture if needed.

calling vet for advice, but i don't have the money to go all out right now...

 

[Pipp]

A picture would be good.

Do you have Betadine or can you get some? It's the red stuff they smear on people before surgery. You need to keep it clean and disinfected.

I'll look at the pictures, but having a neuter incision open up after this length of time is unusual. Are you seeing any pus? (It may look like creme cheese). Is the area hot?


sas :clover:

 

[AquaticRex]

i'll upload pics, and it definitely looks like there is either pus or flesh and the one side looks swollen. it looks as if he's maybe been chewing on it last night maybe and when i was gone out today. i know 100% it wasn't like that yesterday. i just noticed it now when he jumped out of the maze i had him in and saw it all red and stuff.

taking picture now...

 

[AquaticRex]

the camera is dead, but i called the vet and am going to have him checked tomorrow morning. i hope its nothing too bad... i'm about to cry right now...

 

[tonyshuman]

How is Dante today?

 

[AquaticRex]

i don't know whether to be relieved or majorly angry with that vet. i go there and he asked me to lift Dante out of the carrier (opens from the top), so i did, scooping his but and holding him right and all like si should, and put him on the table. the vet said i did it wrong and said i should hold him from around his ribs and letting his body just hang there!! i wanted to scream at him so badly cause of the way he was handling Dante. Dante made a weird squeal and bit him n gave him a nice set of scratches. then he tells me that there is absolutely nothing wrong with my bun, then when i go to put him back in the carrier he starts to try and lecture me on the way i lifted him, again!! i know for sure i will be looking for the other vet that works there next time.

 

[AquaticRex]

also, i know it's not supposed to look the way it does. he says it looks as it should, that it's all part of the healing. but i don't know. it just doesn't look right. i'm gonna have to look into it a bit more myself. i'm only half convinced by him. he just seemed to be so inexperienced with rabbits and it doesn't sit well with me.

 

[Rabbit Hero]

That doesn't sound right at all. I remember my vet telling me to call her if I saw any of the things your describing.

I think your intuition is right with this one, find another vet.

 

[AquaticRex]

i was hoping to have the vet that had Dante fixed. this was another one, and he was saying that he was filling in and that he had experience with rabbits. i highly doubt it. i'm going to call around on Monday and keep an eye on Dante for now cause tomorrow is Sunday and i don't think anywhere is open. unless the vet i chose is in that day, then i'll go back. but as i said, i absolutely refuse to have that vet handling my bun. i know i didn't like him the minute that i met him, and i'm very sure that Dante didn't either. i hope them scratches and bite marks scar for lying. if he didn't know what he was doing, i could have held Dante for him. it does not take a genius to tell that its infected. now that he's said that it's not infected, i won't be able to get the proper medication for him. any ideas? peroxide maybe?

 

[tonyshuman]

Don't use peroxide. Betadine is the best bet--it's a surgical scrub that's gentler on the skin than peroxide or alcohol. It's also called povidone iodine and you can usually find it at a drug store.

 

[AquaticRex]

just so you know, there is no puss, just it looks like he broke his stitches and it had bled for a little. it's not bleeding now or anything, just looks like ripped stitches, but those would have healed by now.

and just an idea why i do not believe him, he looked at it for maybe 5 seconds and then said no. only looked, nothing else. i've done a PSW course. sure it's not working with animals, but to figure out if something is infected, you notice certain things. raised temp around the incision, swelling and/or hardening of the area, pus draining from the area sometimes accompanied with a foul smell, area is red and has red lines leading from the incision to any affected tissue, and pain are associated with infection. there is the raised temp, hardening AND swelling, NO pus that i know of (and no smell), area is red with red lines lines, and Dante does not seem to be in pain. he is binkying normally and has more of an appetite then ever. i'm seriously wondering if the guy even has a vet license...

i'm looking into how to treat an infection at home, then i'll call another vet on their emergency line and ask what to do and what to use.

 

[AquaticRex]

tonyshuman wrote:

Don't use peroxide. Betadine is the best bet--it's a surgical scrub that's gentler on the skin than peroxide or alcohol. It's also called povidone iodine and you can usually find it at a drug store.

ok thanks, i cant get my hands on it right now cause the store just closed, but i'll grab some tomorrow for sure.

 

[AquaticRex]

and sorry for ranting ppl lol i'm just really above normal angry about all of this lol

 

[Flash Gordon]

when my Angel got spayed she messed with her incision all the time..(shes my "slow" bun,air supply was cutoff at birth.)well after awhile it looked strange to me so i had my buddy who is a vet look at it and he said its not bad and what people dont realize is if it pops open its glued inside too..so its not actually a deep open wound.he laughed at me and said do u really think we would only stitch one row to close an incision?? he said more animals would be having to come back and restitch...they dont want u to come back...they make sure its CLOSED.....he told me to use peroxide on it and i said how about betadine and he said no betadine is for a surgical prep.so its not used on skin thats been cut ..its used pre surgery...so he said peroxide will work fine ..and it did but it bleached her fur around the incision area...shes a lilac holland lop and it turned a horrible shade of burnt brown....
ive heard that either betadine or peroxide work fine,...who knows,.,
as for it being infected..its normally goin to have a swollen and pink look to it after a surgical procedure......its gonna be quite obvious if its infected.,,,there is no gray area with that..
also any veterinarian rabbit savvy or not will be able to tell if something is infected or not...
im saying this all matter of fact but i was doin exactly what ur doin when angel pulled her stitches..hehe..i was a crazy wreck..i really think his incision is prob fine...just keep it clean and dry and it should be fine...

 

[butsy]

when butsy got fixed to stiches poped out, but it healed fine on its own

 

[AquaticRex]

so, for some reason, fate does not like me so i could not use the betadine any ways cause i would have to go all the way across town to get it ( i only have a bike, and that is a long way, plus going up a really really steep hill on the way back) since none of the places here seem to carry it. so i just had to use peroxide (slightly watered down; i used the last of my last bottle on my bf when he scraped the heck out a his arm when running through the woods with his buddies) the incision bubbled up so fast!! it was ridiculous!!